


The Book of Azula

by JamesSunderlandsPillow



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Angst, Drama, F/F, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-01
Updated: 2020-05-14
Packaged: 2021-03-01 18:42:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 35,863
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23951746
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JamesSunderlandsPillow/pseuds/JamesSunderlandsPillow
Summary: After three years of exile, Azula is given the opportunity to come home and right the wrongs of her past, beginning in a reunion with her old friend Ty Lee. (I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender).
Relationships: Azula/Ty Lee, Tyzula
Comments: 29
Kudos: 75





	1. The Exile

_Three years have passed since the fall of Fire Lord Ozai._

_In his place, his son Zuko now rules over the Fire Nation, and a new era of peace has been promised to all four nations. Although the war has stopped, there are still many issues that the world faces, and many people still need help._

_Zuko himself has asked me to seek out his sister, my old friend Azula, and bring her home after being away for so long. A lot of people don't think she can ever come back after everything she's been through, but I have faith in Azula. I believe there's still good in her._

**Avatar: The Book of Azula**

**Chapter I: The Exile**

* * *

"Azula… Azula!"

Her eyes flutter open to discover a starry summer sky. There’s the smell of the ocean lingering in the air joined by the sound of the waters calmly towing back and forth, reminders that she’s still at Ember Island. The beautiful starry sky soon becomes more of an omen though as she realizes she shouldn’t be here this late.

She jolts up from her beach chair to fully convalesce and have a look around. That’s when she sees Ty Lee, and only Ty Lee with her on the beach. Her heart begins racing with a stirring panic, but of course Ty Lee just smiles at her. “You were asleep!” she chirps.

“Of course I was, dunderhead!” Azula hollers at her as she stands up, shaking her head of any remaining fogginess. She sees the piteous look on her friend’s face after being scolded, but she doesn’t offer any forgiveness right now. Not when she could get in so much trouble. “Why am I still here? Where’s Mai?”

“I don’t know. I didn’t even know you were still here,” she timidly answers, though some of that trepidation escapes her with her next thought. “It’s just so unlike you to take a nap in the middle of the afternoon.”

Azula grits her teeth and thinks of some things she’d like to shout at this foolish girl, but she keeps it to herself to instead focus on her current situation. From the looks of things, if it’s not already past curfew, it will be very soon. And home isn’t exactly a kick and a step away. So rather than belittling Ty Lee, she chooses to just growl with anger, kicking some sand and grabbing her head with her hands. “I can’t believe you two just left me here! How the heck am I supposed to explain this to my father?!”

She was speaking rhetorically, of course, but Ty Lee ponders the possibilities anyway. After a moment of silent thought, she offers a smile as if an epiphanic light has shined over her head. “Don’t worry, Azula! I know a way we can get home before anyone even realizes you were gone!”

If only it were so easy for Azula to be so joyful. “You had better. Because if I get in trouble, you’re going down with me!”

Ty Lee doesn’t falter though. Instead, she grabs Azula by the hand and begins leading the way. “Come on! I know a shortcut!”

“Ty Lee?! Wait!” In a matter of seconds though, she finds herself heading along a strange path into the shrubbery surrounding the beachfront, almost like a small forest of sand and scattered seashells canopied by palm trees and starlight. In a strange sort of way, it brings her some momentary relief, an escape from her fears and worries. All the while, Ty Lee keeps her hand in hers, practically dragging her along until she gets some shortness of breath.

“Phew. Don’t worry Azula. We’re just a couple minutes away,” she assures her.

While she has her doubts, she also has no choice but to trust in her. It’s enough trust that she can let her guard down and relax just a little, and with complacency comes time to think. “How did you find this trail?”

Ty Lee is quiet for a moment before answering. “Can you keep a secret?”

Azula winces. “Well, I don’t suppose I really have a choice in the matter.”

Belatedly, Ty Lee continues. “Well, one time when my parents were fighting, I decided to run away. I found this trail while wandering around, and well, ever since then, when I get to feeling sad, I go to the beach to be alone. That’s how I found you just now.”

It troubles her to hear these things. Ty Lee is always smiling the most in the group. She never seems sad or angry. Yet she wanted to run away from home once. She’s snuck out a few times, and she did it again tonight. It all makes her feel so weird inside. A little sad, a little grateful considering that’s how she found her on the beach, and even a little angry.

There is no weakness though. Only strength.

“Only cowards run away.”

She knows Ty Lee heard her from the way she turns her head just a little, but she doesn’t respond. Any animosity or disagreement she might feel, she keeps it to herself. Smart girl. It doesn’t make Azula any happier though. And with the silence that ensues for the rest of the walk, that fear for her own well being returns to her. What will she say to father when he finds out what happened? Does she try to lie and blame it on someone else? Does she come forward and risk showing weakness? There doesn’t seem to be any good that can come out of this.

She keeps following Ty Lee though, hoping that she’ll get lucky with him the same way she did being found on the beach. In a matter of minutes, they come to the end of the woods. Ty Lee stops to have a good look ahead, and she perks up. “Look! We’re here!” she quietly says, pointing out the back of Azula’s house.

The princess sighs with some relief, but also feels a heaviness in her chest. The moment of truth will be here soon, and she isn’t so sure she’s ready to face it. But she can’t show weakness, only strength. Whether she’s ready or not, she knows she can’t put this off any longer.

As she begins to step past her escort though, she stops. She isn’t really sure what she feels or what she’s supposed to say to her, but she feels an obligation to at least say _something_ to the other girl before leaving her behind. She looks to her eyes to try and figure out whatever it’s supposed to be, and unsurprisingly, Ty Lee offers her a little smile in return.

Knowing what she knows now, she sees a little grey where there’s supposed to be a shine. She doesn’t know what to make of it, but she knows deep down that she feels a little bad for her. Even so, there’s no sympathy for weakness. She knows that much to be certain.

“You better get going before you get yourself in trouble,” she finally thinks to say to her, only looking to her eyes for a few seconds longer before making her way to her backyard. In those short few seconds, she saw a little more grey, but she can’t worry about that now. She has her own troubles to take care of.

Fate insists on stalling her just a little more though as she hears the other girl call to her one more time. “Azula.”

She reluctantly turns around, that same sense of obligation still harboring within her. Ty Lee keeps smiling, but now there’s more light to outshine the grey. She’s actually happy to be here right now. “Have a good night!”

Azula stares for a moment longer, these conflicting feelings still stirring inside of her. Many different ideas of what to respond with come to mind, some empathetic, some neutral, some even downright callous. It’s a rare thing for her to become speechless, but in this instance, she doesn’t know what to say. So instead, she doesn’t say anything at all. She just turns around and makes her way to her back door.

* * *

_Eleven Years Later_

Daylight faintly bleeds through the curtains of a small, dark room. It’s just enough to catch Azula’s eyes as she returns to the waking world, having slept a deep sleep. At this point, she’s used to the nightmares. She’s used to seeing the faces of her mother and father frowning upon her, or her brother’s fiery blows in a fateful Agni Kai. She’s used to seeing that troublesome Water Tribe girl she almost finished off, she’s seen her face a lot in her dreams lately. She’s certainly used to seeing Mai and Ty Lee of all people. The Boiling Rock seemed to be the start of the nightmares, actually.

She’s not so used to dreaming of days so far in the past though. Of course those memories come to her sometimes when she’s reminded of the beach or of her days in the academy, but she’s quick to shake them off to focus on the present. Even if it’s this bleak, and some of those memories aren’t so bad.

She sits up to take in the air of the new day, and despite feeling somewhat well rested, she doesn’t feel much anything else. She’s also gotten used to feeling this way, too. It’s important to have routines though, she learned that even at a young age. And while her routines used to be much more… becoming of her bloodline, she still appreciates ritualism.

The first thing she does is checks outside the window of this cheap apartment room. It’s far from what her private quarters are- _were_ back at the Fire Nation capital, but all things considered, it isn’t the worst place she’s slept in since leaving. Not even close. The outside world doesn’t seem so bad either this morning. It’s a warm, sunny day, and while it might be dry given how close it is to the desert, that definitely beats the rain. Pragmatically speaking, it would just make her job harder to do today, but even without work to do, she never was a fan of it.

Next she washes her face. She used to take baths every morning and every night back when she had the luxury to do so, but nowadays, she’s lucky to bathe every other night or so. So she makes an effort to wash her face and hands whenever she’s able to. If she can’t wear nice makeup like she used to, she can at least maintain clear skin. And it’s not like she couldn’t just go buy some cosmetics from the local market. She just… chooses not to. There just doesn’t seem to be a point when there’s no one present herself to.

She takes a long, hard look at herself in the mirror today. She broke the habit of doing that early on in her travels, but right now she just loses herself, staring back at the reflection of the fallen Fire Nation princess in the glass. No makeup, long hair, baggy eyes... 

Mother. Mother had baggy eyes. And Mother always stares at her. She’s a monster. _She’s_ a monster.

She quickly shakes herself to clear her mind, deciding she’s spent enough time freshening up for one morning. Today’s an important day, she has more important things to worry about. So she finishes up her morning rituals with the essentials. Brushing her teeth, pushups and crunches, getting suited up in her kimono and walking shoes. Hopefully she won’t need to do too much walking today now that she’s made it this far on her run, but she’s learned that a lack of preparations and failing to account for even the small likelihoods can rob her of well needed pay day. That’s what she needs to worry about. Not makeup, not what bed she sleeps in, not anyone from then.

Today, just herself and the job she needs to do.

* * *

It isn’t much longer before she comes to the town cantina. Outside of the building there are a group of ostrich-horses tied up to a railing, all with similar pouches and supplies. With a closer look, she can see drinking cantines, sun blocking ointments, bandages, and other miscellaneous things that crew workers would need on a hot day like this. They’ve likely been out since the break of dawn working in this heat, so as she calculated, they’ll be inside taking their lunch breaks right now. If she’s lucky, they might even be careless enough to have some happy hour drinks.

Knowing that she’s this close, she makes sure to keep her guard to her as she keeps the hood of her cloak up. She enters the building quietly and casually, maintaining the same poise in her gait as she makes her way over to the bar. Of course she reads the room as she walks, looking around to see what unanticipated factors might get in her way. Fortunately for her, it looks like these are just the usual bunch of ragtag commoners all looking to fill up before going back to their day jobs, or the usual low lives who spend what they have to drink their troubles away. It didn’t take long after leaving home for Azula to decide she’d never stoop so low. Just low enough.

Unfortunately for a certain boastful woman in the center of the cantine, she’s making herself easily exposed for anyone who might take issue with her. Or anyone who would want to take advantage of someone’s already existing issues. She has long brown hair with a little grey in the bangs, and a distinct, somewhat nasally voice. Her laugh is enough to make Azula’s blood curdle a little, but it’s only a minor annoyance. And no minor annoyance will shake her of her poise.

Instead, she just takes a seat at the counter to wait for the bartender, looking straight ahead while listening to the boastful woman go on. “I knew he was a quitter the day they brought him in! I’m telling ya, these young folks just don’t have the drive that they need to survive in today’s world,” she rants to the men sitting with her. From the sound of her voice, she’s likely had a little bit to drink already. That makes Azula smirk to herself as she lowers her hood.

The woman continues loudly expressing herself without a care as to who might be listening. “I didn’t get where I was by slacking off and brown nosing. I got where I am because I work hard and I don’t make excuses! I may not be perfect y’all, but I do the best I can, and all I ask is that the spirits have a little mercy on me.”

Azula has to roll her eyes at that, but thankfully the bartender comes now to serve her. “What will it be, miss?” the tall, black haired boy says. He’s probably not even old enough to drink anything that isn’t sugary and black. 

Azula makes it look like she’s thinking it over, but really she just stares at the glass on the wall to study the reflections of loud mouth and her friends. There’s only four of them, and none of them look anywhere near capable of taking her down. It almost disappoints her to think this might just go smoothly, but only almost. Then she meets the bartender’s eyes with stoicism. “Water. Just water.”

If he’s suspicious that she might be here to start trouble, he keeps it to himself as he turns to get her her drink. In the moment that he does, Azula keeps listening to the mouthy woman rant and rave, tuning out most of what she says when the image of someone else of the pompous sort comes to her mind.

_“I will be the supreme ruler of the whole world!”_

She doesn’t dwell on him long, though. She hasn’t for a while, and she won’t now with her target so close. All she has to do is bide her time a little while longer.

One thing she’s learned since starting her new career is that, when things seem too good to be true, they probably are. That’s why she doesn’t get too excited as two bumpkin men decide to sit in the seats right beside her. She hopes that maybe they’ll just mind their own business, but of course, they decide to look to her with stupid, goofy grins that are supposed to be cool. “Hey suga’. Haven’t seen you ‘round here before,” the one closest to her says. He desperately needs to brush his teeth and get a haircut, and he’s way too pale in the face.

Maybe if she doesn’t even acknowledge him, he’ll take the hint and leave her alone. Unfortunately, he must be as rough in the head as he is to look at, so he tries again. “You got a name?” he says with the same idiotic smile.

The bartender comes back with her drinking water. “Hey, leave her alone guys. She’s not interested,” he tells them. Thanks, bartender.

The men frown to him, and even though Azula wears a scowl, they still manage to lack even the most basic perceptiveness. “You’re paid to serve drinks, kid,” the previously silent man tells him before turning to her to put back on another dumb grin. One that his touchy friend also wears as he places a hand on hers.

“Besides. If she wasn’t interested, she would have said so.”

Despite weeks of conditioning herself to be a stonewall on the job, there’s years of being a ruthless leader who was always treated and revered as such that sometimes overshadows that. So she decides to go ahead and smile back at the man, even going as far as to put her hand over his just as he did to her.

It’s only when she sees him shining the wonder of a child celebrating their birthday in his eyes that she conjures enough heat from her palm to start burning his skin. It’s actually pretty fun for her to watch as that bewilderment and awe in his pathetic, grimey face churns into a pained grimace, one ugly enough to match his chivalry etiquette. The best part is his scream, though. “Ahhhh!”

Her smile is short lived though as she realizes he’s not afraid to hit a woman. After taking a second to suffer over his newly singed wound, adrenaline kicks in, and he uses his other hand to grab a full glass of booze off the counter. He aims it at Azula, but she’s able to duck before it can hit her, transitioning into a countering maneuver and pinning him with a hammerlock.

His friend isn’t nearly as brave. He runs away with his tail tucked, and Azula smiles knowing that this encounter is over. Or at least, that’s what she thinks until she notices the way a few patrons silence themselves behind her. On the other side of the bar, a burly man wears a very sour look on his face over the glass of liquor that was just doused over him. He won’t be so scared to start, or finish trouble, and neither are his friends.

Things were going well, but she realizes now that she might have to get dirty earlier than she’d hoped. Bumpkin boy was scrawny enough to pin down. This guy isn’t. She tries to think of some way to fend him off that doesn’t resort to using her powers, but there’s no avoiding it now. She has to make herself known, and she does it with a quick fire flash to the big guy’s chest. All it does is catch his shirt on fire, not enough to actually injure him; but it’s still a red flag that lets everyone here know the truth.

“She’s a fire bender!”

She only has a moment to take everything in. Big guy and his friends will be the first to try and fight her, but there’s also another duo of troublemakers on the other side of the bar who seem to take issue with her. One against five, nothing to break a sweat at. What bothers her the most is that she sees the look on the boisterous woman’s face, a panicked expression that shows Azula she knows what’s going on and why she is here. She’ll run, and she’ll just have to chase her. Not optimal, but certainly not impossible.

Her window to observe her surroundings closes in with a fist flying towards her, one that she swiftly dodges before connecting with a chop to the neck of her attacker. A hard punch to the gut takes him down, and then she focuses on the next contestant. His position makes him an easy target for smashing his head right into the hardwood counter, so that’s exactly what she does to him, just in time to counter the third man with an elbow to the sternum.

By now her primary target is running out the door of the bar, and her friends are too afraid to even join her. That should make things a little easier at least, not that it matters. She’s fat and slow, so it won’t take long to catch up with her. But first, she has two more knuckleheads to eliminate from the equation. Everyone’s caught onto the fact that she’s a fire bender now, so she doesn’t worry about concealing her energy and blasts the man to her left with a flame to his leg. The guy on her right, she just punches him in the face. Nothing fancy, but certainly effective.

And with that, she runs. Nothing else in the world matters right now, just following her bounty. As she anticipated, the woman wasn’t so foolish as to try and mount her ostrich-horse. No, she took off running through the crowd of people in the nearby streetway. She finds her scurrying, and like a rhino-tiger chasing an emu-gazelle, she locks onto her for a clear pursuit. The woman plays dirty, trying to shove nearby pedestrians to block Azula’s path. But Azula doesn’t falter. She either shoves them aside or just moves past them.

Eventually, she follows the woman around a bend and into an alley. However, as she makes her way around, she discovers that the woman has disappeared from sight. She doesn’t lose a lick of confidence, though. This will hardly be a challenge.

The woman catches her breath while hiding behind a crate, and a few seconds pass before she feels brave enough to have a peek around for the relentless hunter. She doesn’t see anyone, and for a moment, she feels like maybe she might have actually escaped her. Then, she smells something burning.

When she suddenly begins to feel really hot, that’s when she realizes the top of her hair is on fire. There’s not a lot, but that could change if she doesn’t do something about it. She smacks her head over and over again while fretfully jolting up, noisily circling around as she tries to put it out. Thankfully for her, she’s able to save the rest of her dome from being singed. Not so luckily, she then feels another hand grabbing hold of her hair, forcefully pulling her and coercing her into looking into the face of her pursuer.

She isn’t even able to speak. The last thing she sees before blacking out are a pair of cold, amber eyes… and then a strong left elbow.

* * *

When the woman regains consciousness, she feels as if she’s being rocked on some sort of boat. As she really comes to though, she realizes she’s actually on the back of an ostrich-horse trotting its way along the sand of the desert. It’s nearing sundown now, and before she can start to wonder what she’s really doing here, she remembers that elbow that knocked her out, and she remembers the amber eyes of her attacker.

Her hands and ankles are both tied up, and with the way she’s been locked on to the saddle, there’s no escaping for her. She tries to wiggle and shake herself out, but there’s no use. The woman behind her steering the ostrich-horse is in complete control. The only thing she knows to do now is beg for her life. “Hey, hey!” she starts, but unsurprisingly, her captor says nothing. It’s easy to be terrified right now, but she tries to think reasonably. What would a person like her want to hear? “Do you know who I am? Do you?”

“Kath Cols, foreman of the Shangri La Construction Company. Age 38, mother of four," Azula curtly answers.

It surprises Kath to get such a direct answer, but with all the adrenaline coursing through her, she's desperate to try everything she can think of to get out of this. “See? I’m a mother! My kids need me!”

“Maybe your children will be lucky enough to get adopted by a nice Earth Kingdom family," Azula tells her, looking forward all the while. She could care less about sentiments. This is just a job to her, Kath realizes that now.

“Please! I’m begging you! I have a lot of money. Whatever they’re paying you, I’ll give you double- _triple!_ Just please let me go!”

No response. The bounty hunter just keeps riding along until there's nothing to be seen but sand in every direction, then she stops to take out a map. She studies it for a moment before deciding she's where she needs to be, and then she gets to work on dismounting herself and her bounty.

“Look, I have _a lot_ of friends. Someone is bound to coming looking for me-”

“Yes, maybe your friends from the cantina will come to your rescue like they did before,” Azula interrupts as she starts to maneuver the heavier-set woman to the ground. “Now be quiet before I silence you again.”

She ignores Kath's squirming and crying. She's annoying, but not as bad as some of the other people she's captured over the years. Could she have some more dignity? Sure. But it won't matter soon enough. And thankfully for Azula, soon enough isn't very long.

Seven ostrich-horses make their way into view in the distance, drawing nearer with every step in her direction. It intrigues her to see so many people coming for one simple delivery, but she doesn't get too excited about it. They're probably on their way to somewhere questionable after this. Leading the group of riders is a big man with white hair, her usual liaison for exchanges. As usual, he meets his client with stoicism upon stopping.

“Anna,” he greets.

“Ton,” Azula greets back. They lock eyes for a few moments longer. She would like to believe he won't do anything to screw her over, but she can never be too careful. That's why she studies his eyes for as long as she can, even when he turns to face the woman lying down in the sand.

“Has she been harmed?”

“Just a few hairs on her head," Azula tells him, ignoring how Kath stares at the hunters with a mortified expression, concentrating on Ton's cold eyes. Despite them looking as disinterested as they normally do, she can't shake the feeling of distrust inside her. Even so, she does nothing as he gestures his hand at the other riders.

“Grab her."

She doesn't even flinch as two of the men dismount to apprehend a now hysterical Kath.

“No! Please! I have a family! Let me go!”

“Quiet. Or I’ll silence you myself,” Ton tells her while the men carry her into a cage being towed by one of the ostrich-horses. Then, he locks his eyes back to Azula's, or Anna's, as he knows her. Still cold, still disinterested. Normally Azula would like that. Right now though, she feels vulnerable. And she's never liked that feeling at all.

“Do you have my payment?” she asks to break the silence. If he has something up his sleeve, she'd rather cut the crap and get to the dirty work. And if he doesn't she wants to get her money and go home.

She realizes with the way he stays silent that she won’t be going home anytime soon. “There’s been a change of plans,” he begins, looking out to the distance for a moment before fixing his gaze back on her. “Rumor has it that you know something about the deserter Princess Azula. That true?”

If there’s one thing she knows for sure that she’s good at, it’s keeping a straight face. She doesn’t budge as she keeps staring back to him, despite the conflicted feelings she begins to possess over the situation. This creates a lot more problems for her than she really needs, from losing a business partner to having to deal with a new bounty on her head. Many thoughts come to her mind in regards to her new problems, but she has to be tactical. Right now, she just needs to figure out the best way out of this.

“No one has to get hurt. You can give me my money and walk away.”

He doesn’t move either, but his men ready their weapons. Lasso-whips, from the looks of it. That could be an issue, especially if they’re fire retardant. She’ll only have a short window of time to escape on her mount, but even then, she’ll have to fend them off with how many of them there are. If she wants her payment, which she really needs if she wants to get buy for another couple weeks, she’ll have no choice but to take it.

The way Ton keeps looking at her, that same unforgiving expression in his face… she knows she’ll have to fight.

Where there was reason to doubt before, Azula makes it clear who she really is now with the way she casts two flames beneath the feet of two of the ostrich-horses. The animals get startled enough to knock their riders onto their backs, buying her more of an advantage on her way to her own mount. Four of the other riders still have lasso-whips though, so she creates a small firewall to give her the space she needs. It won’t last long with how dry the heat is, but it still grants her enough time to successfully make it to her animal.

As quickly as she can, she bucks up her ostrich-horse to get going. “Yah!” It takes off, and seconds later, she can hear the trotting of the other riders behind her. With only sand in her wake on this desert path, she’s able to focus on both her front and her back, ready to take on the oncoming opposition. One of the riders begins to catch up with her, readying to attack with his lasso-whip, but she throws a quick fireball that hits him right in his face. With that lucky shot, he goes down as fast as he came into play.

She doesn’t have as much luck with the next rider though. As she starts to flank her right, she misses two attempted fireballs, and he nearly cracks her with his whip. She kicks her mount to make him run faster, as fast as he can, and she notices another rider beginning to catch up from the left. A fireball would be too risky to try again, so she tries for a flame slash this time. It doesn’t connect, but it shakes him up enough to slow him down a little. If she doesn’t try something else soon though, she knows they’ll catch her.

She’s been chained up before. She will never let that happen again.

She sizes up the opposition as fast as she can. These two are close, and Ton and one of the other riders aren’t far behind. It’s going to be too difficult focusing on steering and defending herself now, she knows she’ll have to make a choice between the two. The decision becomes somewhat easier for her though as she catches the sight of a whip being readied to strike from the corner of her eye.

A mere second before the weapon cracks the back of her ostrich-horse, she jumps from the creature, igniting flames from both her hands and feet to keep from fumbling down. Too much momentum proves to be against the riders, they aren’t able to slow down in time to avoid her next onslaught of attacks.

First, she uses both hands to direct her flames to the nearest rider, catching both he and his mount on fire. They scurry away in a fritz, and she next turns to do the same thing to his friend. As he falls from his mount seething in pain, Ton recovers from his abrupt halt to begin circling around her, the other nearby rider following close behind. He has his whip ready to strike, and as he aims it in her direction, she thrusts out of the way with flames beneath her feet to avoid being hit.

Unfortunately, Ton’s aim is too fast for her to dodge. He successfully cracks the whip to her arm, the end of it wrapping around her to constrict her with its vice. If she wasn’t so full of adrenaline, it would probably hurt a lot more. There’s no time to waste though. Desperately, she conjures a flame with her hand, but as she feared, the lasso is fireproof. She doesn’t let that stop her though. She musters all the strength that she can, and she yanks Ton to the side before blasting him with a fireball right to the chest.

He releases the whip as he falls to his back, and Azula is able to free herself from the lasso end before quickly making a run for his mount. There’s three riders left to deal with, and they’re all closing in. As fast as she can, she mounts his reluctant ostrich-horse, watching as the other riders begin circling around her.

It’s all so fast and yet so clear for her. The mount calms down enough for her look to all three other riders vulturing around her. She tries to take the first chance she has to make a run straight ahead, but a cracking whip nearly hits her new mount in the face, sending him heeding back. She keeps a tight grip on the reins to keep from falling, and when it makes it to its feet again, she hurriedly whisks another fire slash towards the closest rider.

Again, it doesn’t connect. But she knows if she doesn’t run now, she won’t get another chance. “Yah!” she cries again as she bucks the steed, heading off to create some distance. Of course the other riders are close behind, but she doesn’t let that stop her. She has to keep running. She’s hardly able to think of anything else, she only relies on instinct as she keeps heading forward, kicking the creature to go as fast as it can as the sounds of cracking whips follow close behind. It won’t be long now before one of them manages to connect with either her or her mount, and either way, this will spell the end for her.

In a move of desperation, she flings a couple fireballs back without even fully turning around. She doesn’t properly aim, she just hopes for the best that one of them will connect. But the whips keep cracking, the hooves keep trotting. Then, she hears the sound she dreaded most.

_*Whack!*_

But she doesn’t fall. Her mount doesn’t slow down. She turns around to see how it’s possible, and she’s sincerely surprised to see a large, brown mammal the size of a komodo rhino charging beside the riders. She can’t see who exactly is commandeering the creature with all of the ruckus going on, but she’s able to witness the way it lashes its tongue out at one of the other riders, causing its mount to fall over just as one of its friends did a moment ago.

Even with this stranger’s intervention, she feels as if things are only about to get worse for her. Unfortunately, this proves to be true as she hears the cracking sound of a whip connecting with flesh again, this time followed by being toppled off of her ostrich-horse. “Ahh!”

She careens to the ground, knocking the wind out of her. She isn’t sure if it was this strange creature’s tongue or the last rider’s lasso whip that brought her down, but she is able to take all the time she needs to convalesce. Ton and his riders are finished, she knows that much. What she doesn’t know yet is whether this stranger is a friend or a foe.

Still grounded, she turns to face the carnage. As expected, all ostrich-horses and the people riding them are down on the sand, circled by the large mammal before it makes its way over to Azula. She can see now that the person riding it is a woman, a woman with pale skin and long dark hair. From the looks of things, she’s Fire Nation. That could either be very good or very bad. Azula decides that she can’t be too careful though, and if this person is on her side, they’ll let her know quickly.

So as they dismount their strange creature, she quickly gets back up on her feet, conjuring fire around her hands to prepare for an attack if needed. The woman doesn’t respond with an attack of her own though, but that might be because someone else hops out from behind her.

“Azula! Wait!” they cry out with a familiar voice. Hearing it makes her heart skip a beat, and with time to study her face, she begins to realize just who it belongs to.

“Ty Lee?” she says, bewildered to see her old friend after all this time. She looks almost exactly the same as she did the last time she saw her. She still wears her brown hair in a braided ponytail, so long it nearly goes down her entire back. Even with the dry heat and the excitement of a dogfight, there’s still an evident mirth in her face, a certain _aura_ to her, as she would call it. Seeing her brings a feeling to Azula that she’s never really felt before. It’s a certain numbness that comes with nostalgia, like she can almost trust in the way she made her feel secure so long ago.

Were it so easy. After the images of their days as children together, the days spent growing up in the academy, time spent at Ember Island becoming close as family… there’s the memory of Boiling Rock. The day that everything changed.

“Yeah, it’s me!” Ty Lee chirps with a smile, happy as can be to finally see her old friend after so long. But as she tries to step in closer, maybe even to try and wrap Azula in a hug, she conjures more fire, ready to blast the girl with a vengeful inferno. She takes a step back, cautiously thinking of how to coax her. “Woah now. We’re not here to hurt you. I just wanna talk,” she says, backing up towards her companion. The other woman stares a dagger at Azula with the one eye that’s not covered by her bangs, almost as if she’d like to be able to take her on.

Ty Lee has other plans though. The smile has sorely disappeared from her face, now replaced by a blend of fear and concern. “It’s me Azula. I’m your friend, remember?”

She only remembers Boiling Rock. She remembers being so close to putting Zuko away for good, to finally being able to cement her rightful place as the one true heir to her father’s throne. It would have made him so proud. Zuko would have never come back to challenge them. Things would be so different if only Ty Lee would have stood by her. But she didn’t. And as furious as it makes her to see her face again… there’s still that numbness. There’s curiosity. There’s forlornness. There’s… confusion. All of it makes it so hard to focus on just anger, and she has to let her flames die.

“What are you doing here? How did you find me?” she asks now, her hands falling to her sides. She never stops staring at Ty Lee though. It’s as if everything else from the sand on the ground to the bodies of riders and this mystery woman have just vanished. All she sees is Ty Lee, the way she reciprocates these conflicted feelings in a mutual gaze, the way she defensively keeps her hands thrown up before slowly lowering them. Finally, she takes a deep breath, and she begins to speak.

“This is June. Her flying dragon thing was able to track you down because of your scent,” she explains.

June raises a brow. “It’s definitely not a flying dragon. He’s a shirshu, and his name is Nyla.” The creature snorts as if to imply its approval of her.

“It kind of looks like a dragon?” Ty Lee tries to reason, but June won’t have it.

“He looks nothing like a dragon.”

“Well, the point is, she helped me find you.” Having put that to rest, she returns her attention to Azula. She watches her, anticipating any sort of reaction from a fit of rage to tearful embrace. Nothing changes though. The former princess just keeps staring back at her, frozen with all of the things she has to be feeling and thinking.

She only stares back for a matter of seconds, but they burn slow as she measures every inch of her. She doesn’t wear the clothes of royalty anymore. No, she’s dressed to battle heat, sweat, and regular day to day exertions. Heck, she doesn’t even wear Fire Nation colors. Just all grey with a little shade of blue along the ties of the kimono. There’s no makeup on her face, and her hair hasn’t been styled at all. She just wears it up in a ponytail to keep it out of her face. She might be as angry as she was three years ago, but from the way she looks and the way she stands out here in the middle of a desert surrounded by fallen hunters… Ty Lee can see that she’s changed.

The bodies are more interesting to June than the tension between the two younger women though. “I recognize these guys. How’d you manage to get on their bad side?” she asks Azula, but she doesn’t even look back to her. She just keeps staring at Ty Lee, who just keeps staring back at her. “You know what, never mind. We should probably get going before more of them show up,” she tells the two of them.

Finally Ty Lee breaks the mutual gaze to address June’s statement with an affirming look in her eyes, but Azula just keeps watching her. She might just be trying to figure out how she feels, or she might be visualizing all of the ways she can pummel her into the ground. She decides to give her the benefit of the doubt though considering they used to be best friends. And that even someone as angry as her understands when to fight another day. “She’s right. We should get out of here. We can ride away to some place safe, and then I’ll explain everything. Is that okay?” she asks with a careful tone.

Azula keeps staring the same calculating stare, but eventually, she eases up to start moving forward. She says nothing, she just steps close enough to the shirshu to let them know she’ll ride along. It’s a small victory for Ty Lee, but it’s a victory nonetheless. June then takes it upon herself to mount the creature first, followed by Ty Lee. All the while, Azula never stops staring at her. It makes her a little worried, but at the same time, she doesn’t let fear control her. There’s still a lot of things to talk about, and the ride away will give her time to think these things over and rehearse what she’ll say… again. Like she has every day since beginning her journey.

Finally, it comes to be Azula’s turn. At first, she just keeps silently looking at her old friend, the one who came all this way to find her. Still, dozens of theories and ideas come to mind about her coming here and what it means now, but as always, she prioritizes. They’ll have plenty of time to talk, and maybe more importantly, Ty Lee will have time to listen. So she shorts her tunnel vision enough to climb aboard the shirshu, getting closer to Ty Lee than she has in a very long time. Close enough that if she needed to, she could wrap her hands around her waist to hold on… or around her throat. She doesn’t, of course. She hangs on to the saddle, choosing to stare off into the nothingness of the desert distance to let her thoughts wander.

Seeing that her companions are ready, June bucks up Nyla, and they take off into that distance. The ride is quiet the whole way through, no one says a word. Even with the silence though, the two former friends have much to ponder on their journey. Feelings of loss, anger, sadness, and confusion. Not all the thoughts they have are bad though. There’s reminiscence of times where things were much simpler and more joyful, where they didn’t worry much about wars and fighting. Times where they were able to really learn about one another, to see who they really are. If not for the bad, Ty Lee might even smile about them.

Azula never even comes close.

* * *

Dusk begins to overcast the sandy town of Loud Mesa. While hardly the worst settlement Azula has come to since her first day as a bounty hunter, it’s nowhere near as luxurious as the capital. Thieving and poverty are everyday occurrences. Some people are happy just to have sleeping bags to sleep in instead of nice, comfy beds. It’s only been three weeks since she made her way here and scrounged up the money to afford a decent apartment to stay in, but if Ton has friends, she might be leaving much sooner than she’d hoped.

As frustrating as knowing she’ll have to contend with this is, she focuses much more on the two women she rides with. If they wanted to hurt her, they would have by now. She knows that much. Even so, she learned long ago that trust is for fools. Whatever they have planned, it could still create more problems for her. Even from an old friend like Ty Lee.

Three years. Three years have passed since the last time they saw one another. While Azula’s never fully trusted anyone, there was a time where she at least counted on people to have her back. Mai was never too enthusiastic about keeping her company, though she never was enthusiastic about much anything, really. Ty Lee was different though. They would hug upon greeting. She would smile and laugh when she made quips about burning down opposition and conquering the Earth Kingdom. They were friends. _True_ friends.

But like everyone else, she betrayed her. She couldn’t trust her, just like father. She couldn’t understand her, just like mother. She couldn’t stand to know she was the most powerful person on earth, just like Zuko. She’s here with an ulterior motive. She didn’t come for the sake of what they had. The more she dwells on it, and the closer they get to the storm gate of Loud Mesa, the nearer her harbored resentment approaches a boiling point. Until finally, she can’t keep quiet anymore.

To the surprise of June and Ty Lee, she hops off the back of the shirshu, landing safely on her feet. Never one to not be too careful, June’s instincts make her dismount the creature just the same, ready to take on what could possibly be a sneak attack. With the way Azula fires up her fists, her concern was warranted.

“Tell me what you’re doing here now or I’ll fry you both where you stand,” Azula threatens, aiming one fist at June and another at Ty Lee. Despite knowing she’s a powerful firebender who doesn’t make empty threats, June narrows her eyes with a scowl, unshaken. Before the situation can escalate any further though, Ty Lee hops off Nyla next, defensively gesturing both women to create some space.

“Woah, okay. Take it easy, Azula. We don’t want any trouble,” she begins, and seeing the vengeful glare from the former princess, she knows to hurry up and get to the point. “Your brother sent me to find you. He wants you to come back.”

 _Your brother sent me to find you. He wants you to come back._ Hearing those words almost surprises Azula enough to drop her stance, but that’s not everything.

“It’s been three years now. We miss you. I miss you.”

For a moment, she’s frozen as the pieces come together in her mind. The same memories that haunt her nightmares: Boiling Rock, the Agni Kai, being chained up like a monster; they all swarm her head like vicious bumblevultures. Ty Lee looks to her with doe eyes, like maybe she doesn’t understand. But she can’t, she could never understand.

And she doesn’t. Seeing Azula just stare at her like this, she doesn’t know what to expect. She isn’t sure what she’s feeling. All she knows is it scares her, but she can’t let fear control her. She has to try. “Azula?”

Finally, she says her piece. “What do you mean you miss me? You betrayed me! You all did!” she yells, her eyes widened by hate and anger. It's the same look she had when Mai told her she loved Zuko more than she feared her.

“You’re still mad about Boiling Rock, huh?” Ty Lee timidly says, feeling her neck dip into her shoulders with tension. How could she not be frightened though? She knows what Azula is capable of. Worse yet, she knows she's not helping.

“Oh, you mean when my best friend knocked me to the ground to let my brother and his traitor friends get away and steal my throne from me? No, that’s water under the bridge," Azula sarcastically sneaks in, but it's all seriousness afterwards. All seriousness and all anger. "Of course I’m still mad!”

She has a gift for making people feel afraid. It's always been in her blood for all long as Ty Lee's known her. But three years have passed, and many things have changed. She's had time to think over how this conversation could go hundreds upon thousands of times, and while no amount of rehearsal can compare to the actual thing, she knows there are some things that have to be said. And she starts with what she feels is most important for her friend to know.

“I’m sorry! I was scared. I didn’t want you to hurt anyone. If you would have killed them, you wouldn’t have been able to come back from that. I was just trying to help you," she tries to tell her, the conviction rasping in her voice. But Azula only gets angrier.

“Help me? Help me?! You turned against me! You, Mai, Zuko, and now he wants me to come back?!” she retorts, stepping closer with her fists still firing. Ty Lee can't help but step back, but she tries to stay strong. She won't let fear overwhelm her.

Having seen just about enough though, June takes a step forward herself. “Why don’t you take a step back there, princess,” she curtly tells Azula.

She sizes her up, then Ty Lee. On one face, there’s no emotion. Just a stonewall. On the other, there’s a lot of things. Pain is what she sees the most. Seeing that pain is what makes her crack though. She could easily take down this pathetic errand girl and her oversized rat, she could scream and yell more to the girl she once called her friend. But seeing that pain just brings it all together, and she has to laugh.

“Oh this is rich. My brother wants me to come back and pretend like nothing ever happened. Like I can be a part of your happy little family together.”

That’s when Ty Lee sees pain from her too. “Azula-”

“He didn’t even have the balls to come himself! He sent _you_ of all people to come and get me!” she goes on, pacing back and forth with the emotions frothering inside her. It’s a difficult thing for Ty Lee to be a part of, but she knows she has to stay strong. She has to keep reaching out.

“It’s not like that at all. I volunteered to help find you because I wanted to see you again. I want to help you Azula.”

She snaps. “I don’t need your help! I don’t need anyone’s help! In fact, I never want to see or hear from any of you ever again!”

For a moment, nothing is said. She stays in place, pointing a finger at Ty Lee with the vengeful glare cemented on her face. She’s serious about what she says, and it hurts her. It hurts her a lot to hear it. She wears that pain well as Azula finally lowers her finger, only looking to her brown, teary eyes for a second longer before pulling away. She never even glances at June. She just decides to start walking.

There’s so much frustration inside for Ty Lee. This isn’t how this was supposed to go. In a way, she always expected it, but she always had enough hope that her feelings would be enough to show Azula they have something to fight for. That they could pick some of the pieces back up from their forgotten past. It wasn’t enough though, and it hurts very much.

What hurts the most is seeing her walk away though. Not just from her, but the chance to do better for herself. She hoped that she wouldn’t have to rely on anything but her own grievances to get the point across, but now she knows she has no other choice. She’s here for herself, but she’s here on a mission, too. And while it pains her to remember why, she has to be strong.

“Your uncle is dying.”

The words paralyze Azula more than any chi blocking blows from her could. It’s like the world stops for a few seconds, as if it's aware of what kind of shocking bombshell was just dropped on her. She considers the fact that maybe she’s lying, like this is a last minute desperate trick to get her to change her mind. But she knows Ty Lee wouldn’t be capable of such a thing. She would never stoop so low. That can only mean that there’s truth to her words, that her only Uncle Iroh is close to death.

She slowly turns to face Ty Lee, wearing indifference on her face that almost passes as impatience. Ty Lee realizes there might be a little bit of both, so she works up the nerve to elaborate despite her racing heart and shaky nerves. “They don’t know what it is, they’ve tried everything. All we know is that he has a few weeks left to live. Maybe less. That’s why Zuko sent me.”

It’s as if a lever is pulled. Hearing those last words, _“That’s why Zuko sent me,”_ triggers something hateful deep inside of Azula. Hate for him, hate for her, hate for everyone, even her old uncle. It doesn’t matter what amount of sincerity or remorse Ty Lee wants to offer, she’s beyond past caring now.

“What makes any of you think that I give a damn what happens to that old bastard?” she starts, her voice growing less shrill and more raging. “He never did anything for me. He only stood in my way and helped Zuko take everything from me!”

It breaks Ty Lee’s heart to see and hear her like this. She can’t help but let some tears fall as she holds on to what few less threads she feels left. “Azula, please listen to me. He just wants to see you again before- before...” 

She wanted to stay strong, but she can’t. Words become too hard to say. Thoughts become too muddled to process. All she sees is the anger Azula expresses, the hate she truly feels. She’s failed to help her. She knows it, Azula knows it.

There’s nothing left to say. She could scream more and tear into Ty Lee for everything that everyone has done to betray her over the last three years. But there’s no use. It’s not the same as saying these things to Zuko, or to Iroh, or her parents, or everyone else. She sees there’s no shine left to color the grey from Ty Lee’s eyes, she’s been defeated. Most of all, she just feels tired. She just wants to leave.

“Don’t follow me. Take your stupid flying dragon thing and go back where you came from.”

With that, she walks away,

A few more seconds pass before she becomes a silhouette in the distance, and when she realizes that this has truly finished, June turns to Ty Lee. In the short time she’s known her, she’s only known optimism. She smiles, she laughs, she tries to hug, she’s just that type of hopeful person the world doesn’t see much of. Right now, she just stares to a lifeless canvas of sand, hoping to make sense of a pallet of blending emotions inside her.

Even someone as hardened as June can feel empathy though, and she sighs before trying to help her move forward. “Well that went swimmingly. Now what?”

Ty Lee thinks it over, still staring to the grains of sand. They’re far different from the ones that she used to walk on back on Ember Island, back when things were so much simpler. But they all look the same. Some things never change.

But while some things never change, many things do, and she knows that there may never be any going back for her once dear friend. Something in the sand though, something in her heart… It won’t let her give up.

“I’m gonna give her the night to think it over. Tomorrow we’ll try again,” she says, looking up to the older woman with more seriousness than she’s ever shown her before. It’s a hard thing for June to digest.

“Look, I understand you’re trying to help her, and I’ll do whatever you want me to do,” she tells her, hoping to sound both sympathetic and pragmatic. “But I’ve been in her shoes. She looks like she has her mind made up.”

She knows that she’s probably right. She knows Azula well enough to know that she isn’t the type to change her mind, especially when it comes to her pride. But once upon a time, they were kids on the beach. And no matter how much has changed or how much time has passed, that’s something that will never be taken away.

“I know. But I have to give her one more chance. I just… I just have to.”

* * *

**Hey true believers, Papa Jimmy James here. It’s been a while.**

**This is my first attempt at some ATLA fiction, and well, all I know to really say is that I hope I don’t disappoint. It’s hard to live up to the amazing writing from the show, but I couldn’t let that stop me from exploring one of its most compelling characters, and this cracky ship I’ve taken a liking to.**

**I won’t spoil anything major of course, but I will say that this will get a _little_ dark at some turns. So try to keep an open mind, as well as an open heart, and hopefully we can have some laughs and maybe some tears together over this journey.**

**One little note, Anna is pronounced "Ah-nuh," like the Frozen princess. I just went with an A name I thought Azula would use lol.**

**Oh, and if it wasn’t obvious, the little forward at the beginning was supposed to be Ty Lee speaking lol.**

**Thanks for checking in, and I hope to see you again soon :D**


	2. The Raid

**Chapter II: The Raid**

Azula didn't get sick. When she was a little girl, she didn't get colds like her brother did. She never contracted any pox or flues, she was a shining example of health and wellness throughout her entire life.

Tonight, not so much. Since quietly returning to her apartment, she's felt as if a knot has formed inside of her stomach, and nothing she does seems to help. She's tried eating and drinking plenty of water, but she can't keep anything down. She can't ever remember a time she's actually vomited before, but now she has a wastebin full of puke that she's too weak to even take outside and let air out.

She didn't have much time to really even think things over, either. Within minutes of getting home, her head started pounding with a terrible migraine. Even the moonlight from outside her window hurt her eyes too much to look at, so she just went to go lie down. Then her stomach got sick, then she started sweating bullets.

Now she just lies in a pile of blankets on the floor, darkness surrounding her as she fights through her pains. If any of Ton's friends decide to come looking for her tonight, she'll be helpless to defend herself. It's an awful feeling to have knowing that she's essentially useless for anything besides lying in a sweat drenched pile of blankets, even worse considering everything else she's had to go through today.

Somewhere out there, Uncle Iroh is feeling the same way. Maybe this is some sick form of karma getting back at her for not being kinder to the old man while he was around, but it's hardly fair. It's not like he ever took time to coddle her. He was always too busy drinking tea and crying over his precious Lu Ten. Then Zuko.

And Zuko has the audacity to try and bring her back home? After everything they've been through? After everything he took from her? How is that justified? How dare he use their uncle's dying breaths as an excuse to suddenly change his heart about things? They're always going on about honor, but then they do such dishonorable things? Hypocrites! Liars! Fools!

Just like Ton. While she never considered anyone in this new life of hers a friend, she depended on him for work. He was always forward and never pulled any underhanded tricks to take money or work from her, and in a way, she can't even blame him for wanting to collect the prize money now put on her head, something else she'll have to worry about going forward. Along with finding a new home, creating a new name, starting all over… again...

And she didn't even get paid for dealing with that stupid Kath bitch.

It would be easier to be much angrier if not for the headache. And the stomach ache. And the everything else aching, inside and out. Maybe it was being in the sun for so long today, or maybe her lunch was just under cooked, but she's never felt so awful in her life. Why this, why now?

As she struggles to maintain normal breaths through her rapid heartbeats, she shuts her eyes, trying to force herself to either fall asleep or just die already. Whatever will make the misery stop soon. She tries to distract herself, to think of anything else besides her pain. But she can't. There are no happy thoughts, no things she can use as an escape. They all bring her more pain, more anger, more hate…

Except for Ty Lee.

She remembers the look on her face as she told her she never wanted to speak to her again. She's seen pain in her eyes before, but never quite like this. It wasn't the same kind of defeat that comes from fear or anger, but certain sadness. Sorrow. Loss. She was in her feelings over a failure to succeed not for herself, but for Azula. She could see it then, and even though she wanted to be angry, and she very much was… she knew Ty Lee was sorry. Whether she's worth forgiving or not is a different story, but she dwells on that sorrowful pain now, feeling it bleed through her nausea and anger.

It probably isn't a healthy substitute for either of those feelings, but she realizes now that she's supposed to work through those feelings just the same. There's no room for weakness, so it's best to snuff it all out now while she's already at her most vulnerable. She could have chosen to forgive her and to accept her offer to go back to the capital, to go back home and see Zuko and Iroh and the kingdom she left behind. If not for herself, then at least for the good friend she once had.

But she made her decision, and it's a decision she stands by. Sooner or later everyone betrays her. Ty Lee would just do it again. Still… it hurts. It hurts that things had to end up this way. And that's the last thing she really remembers before blackness.

* * *

There's one lantern burning light in the left hand side of the room. Even then, it's almost still too dark to see anything going on. She flutters her eyes a bit to try and make sense of it all, but it's as if she's paralyzed. She can hardly move her neck, and eventually, all she can see is a young man sitting down at a table. From the looks of it, he's painting something.

"Could you maybe illustrate Zuko without his scar? I don't want any imperfections in the painting," a familiar brash voice says to the young man. She knows the voice as soon as she hears it. It makes her confused, it makes her angry, it makes her scared. It always does. It's the voice of her only father, and she's able to move her neck just enough to turn and see that he stands just a few feet away from her. In between the two of them: her brother Zuko and her mother Ursa.

Before the feelings of disbelief over seeing her long gone mother are able to fully register, she gets distracted hearing that awful voice speak up once again, just as snide as ever. "Actually, on second thought, you might just leave Zuko out of the painting all together. It might be better that way," he suggests with a dastardly grin, one that makes his son scowl.

"I don't care, leave me out of your stupid painting. I'm the Fire Lord now, so what does it matter?"

He just folds his arms with a huff as their father rolls his eyes, but before they can go any further, Ursa intervenes. "Ozai, you should be kinder to him. After all, you did give me up just to keep him around," she says before facing her boy. "And he's sensitive!"

"Mom!" he petulantly cries while she laughs a little, and all Azula can do is watch with confusion as they continue amongst themselves.

"Didn't I banish you?" Ozai casually asks his wife with a raised brow, and she laughs it off like it's nothing.

"Oh darling, you know you can never get rid of me," she tells him. Then, she slowly turns to face Azula, meeting her daughter's eyes with a blend of both affection and disdain in otherwise emotionless eyes. "Isn't that right, Azula?"

She feels her heart begin to race as her mother and father watch her, judging her so harshly with just their eyes. Nothing is ever good enough for them, they both want such different things while only wanting the same thing. They just keep staring, and she doesn't know what to do or say. Either way she'll lose. She's weak, she's a monster, she's a problem child.

Zuko finally turns to lean closer to her, enough that he can whisper in her ear. "Don't let them get to you. It doesn't matter what they think."

Finally, it's as if the stillness that came over her has vanished. She's able to twitch her fingers and her toes, able to move her head to look directly into her brother's eyes. She isn't able to look at him long, but in the moment that she's able to, she sees a smile on his face. One unlike she's ever seen from him before.

Then, there's darkness as the light on the side of the room burns out. She can't see anything, but she can feel her body in this place. She reaches out to grab hold of her brother, or her mother, or her father even, but they're not there anymore. She's alone, and she feels like she's getting smaller. The world is getting bigger. This place that she's in is sinking, falling down into an abyss.

Suddenly, a bright white light shines down from above. It's as if the sky has cracked to reveal such an anomaly, and all her feelings are numbed again as she loses herself at the sight of its glow. Slowly, a black figure steps out from its light, revealing itself to be Zuko making his return. This time, he's fully dressed to fit his status as the reigning Fire Lord.

She stares at him with this dread encompassing her, locking her in a mutual gaze with him. His eyes are cold and unforgiving, so unlike the smile he offered moments ago. In this gaze, she feels a crippling in her pride, a surge of panic she hasn't felt in years. The time for judgment has come, and she knows he will be merciless. Part of her wants to beg, part of her even wants to cry. Instead, she just watches, anxiously anticipating whatever it is he has to say to her.

Finally, he speaks. "You had a chance to save yourself. You didn't take it," he curtly tells her, his voice powerful and commanding respect. Her eyes widen, she loses the air in her breath. There's still parts of her that want to show her true feelings, but she says nothing, she does nothing. She couldn't if she wanted to. Her body won't let her.

His stare is scorning, his posture is firm. He's ready to end this. "You wanted a life of exile. Now, you shall have one forever." With those final words, he turns around to walk away, the bright white light slowly fading as the darkness shrouds everything once again. This is it, it's now or never.

"No! Please Zuko! Don't leave me!"

Tears come down her face. Her knees weaken, she falls to them. All she can do is watch as the darkness shrouds her new world, her heart pounding harder with every step Zuko takes until he's gone for good. She reaches her hand out, but it's too late. It's over.

Realizing her fate now, she lowers her head, shutting her eyes to accept this penance. She has no choice now. It's too late to be sorry. Then, just before she can drift away, she feels something from behind her. She opens her eyes again to notice a new white light coming from above, and she turns to face it. The light is small and very high up, but she sees it. Like a moon in the sky, it calls to her. She stares at its liberating beauty, humbled by the very fact it even exists.

Then, she sees a shape. With it, a voice. "Take my hand!"

She knows who it is, and it both breaks her heart and makes her whole to hear it. Of course it would be her, of course she would be the one to come and save her. She doesn't deserve it though. Now here in this sunken place, she knows that this isn't right for her.

Still, the voice calls out, and a hand reaches down from the light. "Take my hand Azula!"

More tears fall as she averts her eyes, looking down to the ground. She's never contemplated anything so hard in her life. This goes against everything she's ever stood for and been told. But she can't help herself. In this moment, she looks to the light and the shape coming out of it, watching as her ascendance brings her closer to their hand ever so slowly. It may not be what she deserves, it may not be what's right… but in this moment, she realizes one certain truth. This is what she wants.

Accepting that reality, she lets go of her anger and her pain. She frees herself to look at life through the light's eyes, raising her hand up to reach out for the hand calling hers.

Then… she wakes up.

It takes time to recover and to fully realize what's happened. It was all just a dream, a nightmare really. It doesn't matter now, what matters is that she's back in the real world. With the time it takes to forget the dream, she slowly remembers the reality that was the day before. There was the bounty, the betrayal, and Ty Lee coming back with what was definitely not a flying dragon. Then she made it back here, and she got so sick she thought she might die. The smell of sweat and bile is what really reminds her of it all, but she's too groggy to do anything about it just yet. It can wait a few.

So she sits up from her pile of blankets, checking to see if her equilibrium will even let her. Fortunately, she doesn't feel nauseous. Her head is a little heavy, but she knows that it's just from sleeping such a deep sleep. She doesn't feel too warm, she doesn't feel any chills. No, it's as if whatever ailment had come over her has seemingly been sweat out over a night's rest.

At least there's that, because the longer she takes to come into the new day, the more she remembers how much work she has to do now. There's the matter of figuring out where to go from here to attend to. What does she do for work? How much longer will she be able to get by with her current savings? And, where does she literally go? These are all things she needs to start planning for.

Before she's even able to stand up and brush her teeth though, there's a knock at her door. It makes her heart sink to hear it, but she waits a moment to be sure that it wasn't just her mind playing tricks on her. After a few seconds though, there's another knock, and she knows she can't wait around any longer.

Quietly, she creeps her way over to the window, keeping crouched down so that she can just peek out the corner. The visitor raps their knuckles against the door a couple more times now, this time a little a harder. Whoever it is, they aren't going away. She carefully sneaks her head over to have a look, and in a way, she's very relieved to see that it's only Ty Lee and not some big muscle man here for her head. Even so, that relief is soon subjugated by a different brand of dread. Didn't she make herself clear yesterday when she walked away from her? Wasn't she clear enough about not wanting any part of her or her family again?

Yet, she doesn't get angry. She just heavily sighs, then makes her way to the door.

She opens up just as it looks like Ty Lee's about to try timidly knocking again, and it's as if a ghost has appeared before her when she realizes the door has been opened. She doesn't scream or shout, but her eyes widen in a way Azula's never seen before. Not from her, at least.

For a moment, nothing is said. She just meets her old friend with a tired, impatient look, one that makes her realize she needs to get with the program now. So she perks up, shaking herself of the way she got startled to say what she came here to say. Though, it becomes hard to concentrate on that with the way Azula looks.

"Are you okay? Did you… just wake up or something?" she asks, her eyes measuring up her messy hair, the bags beneath her eyes, the clamminess of her skin. If she didn't know any better, she'd think maybe she was on something the night before. However, Azula doesn't respond. Instead, she just keeps looking at her with the same _get on with it_ look in her eyes. So get on with it she does. "Right. Uhm… Listen, I know you said you didn't want to see me again. Just hear me out," she starts, trying her best to keep clear and concise without faltering. It isn't so easy with everything going on, especially when Azula is right before her. But she takes a deep breath, and she tells her everything she's pondered.

"I know you feel like you can't trust me. I get that, I really do. But I hope you know that I really mean it when I say that I've missed you. I had to see you again." She takes a breath before continuing, the fears seemingly abiding. "I know a lot has changed, but we were best friends once. In a way, we always will be. I just- I don't know. I know things are messed up. They can't ever go back to the way they were."

They certainly can't. Even hearing her say it out loud almost makes Azula give up on this conversation. But Ty Lee's momentary lapse soon gives way to a firm, inspired look in her eyes.

"But they can be better."

Azula feels the tension alleviate from her brows. Where she had a conflicted, almost scornful look on her face, it's as if she's just ready to listen now. Ty Lee sees the change, and she feels compelled to keep up with this approach.

"I'm going to wait until noon to give you some more time to think things over. If you decide you want to come along with me and June back to the capital, we'll be waiting for you then in the town square. If I don't see you, well… I'll know you've made your mind up. I'll go on my way and tell Zuko the truth. Just… please think about it."

She lets the words linger in the air a while longer as she looks to Azula's amber eyes. She isn't so sure what sees in them, especially with how she turns her face to avert the gaze. Whatever she's thinking, maybe it isn't so bad. Maybe she was right about there being something worth saving in her. She doesn't cling to knee-jerk assumptions, though. She said the things she said last night, and while she may have taken the time to hear her out just now, she might fall back on her laurels.

If that's the case, she doesn't want this to be a bitter goodbye. She doesn't want Azula to remember her as the girl who took her down at Boiling Rock, or an ex-friend who betrayed her. She wants to be remembered for the good times. So she puts on a weak smile, the best she can manage with all the somber feelings stirring inside her. "It was good seeing you again Azula," she tells her.

And with that, she turns to make her leave.

Azula only lets herself watch her for a moment before shutting the door. There's this wistfulness inside of her, a far cry from what she felt the day before when they last said farewell. She idles for a couple of seconds, thinking of what she needs to do now with everything weighing down on her. There isn't much time to spare, but there's so much to contend with.

Including the proposition Ty Lee has made to her. She feels almost guilty for wanting to, but she decides to have one last look outside her window. She hides behind the curtain, only peering one eye through the crack between it and the wall to see if Ty Lee is still there. Sure enough, she's still walking away, the same somberness from before still present in her gait. It's almost enough to make Azula remorseful, but not as much as when the girl turns around one more time to have a hard look at the place she's leaving. She stares for a few seconds, maybe even wondering if Azula will come try and stop her, but eventually she picks back up and leaves again, this time for good.

The thought comes to Azula that this might actually be the last time. This might be the very last time that these two ever see each other, and while that was a premise she was fine enough living with before today, now it leaves her feeling… bad. Like it's not something she should be okay with.

The truth is that nothing has changed about the past. Ty Lee did what she did, and it was because of that that things happened the way they did. If not for her interference at Boiling Rock, Zuko would have been eliminated. His team of misfit rebels would have been compromised. She would be the Fire Lord, her father would be the Phoenix King.

Even then, would it have been worth it? It's something she's wondered ever since going into exile, but she never voiced it out loud to anyone. She always tried to shove these feelings down deep, knowing that weakness and trusting in others is only a path to downfall. In this moment though, she doesn't feel like she can fall much further. She's out of work, out of a plan, and her only silver lining looks to be a compromise with her old friend.

It would be one thing if they were forcing her into submission or waving defeat over her head. Instead, she came in with smiles and apologies. She told Azula she was sorry for her, that she wanted to help her… even after throwing her in prison and shunning her. She could make excuses about Zuko and others doing the same to her, but there's been more than one invitation to make peace now. She wasn't banished, she left on her own accord.

All she can do is sit against the wall of her empty, dark, odorous room as these thoughts and feelings press her down like the heaviest anvils. She's always taken the time to blame everyone else, but now she wonders if this is all her own doing. If this path was made because she couldn't do better. She's tried the same things all her life, even after being defeated by her brother and the Avatar, and where did it get her? Here. Right here, alone in the dark, with nothing to show for it.

There's not much to be proud of here. And if admitting that goes against her father's views on pride, then maybe his views never really mattered at all. She's always wondered these things, but only now does she admit that to herself.

Maybe she was always weak.

Years of contemplation and anger have smoldered inside of her, breaking her down into nothing but a shell of former glory. Everyone's forgotten the name Azula now, and because of yesterday, they won't have Anna to remember, either. She's nothing.

But not to Ty Lee. She said that they would always be friends, but how can that be true? How can that be the case when the last three years she's convinced herself that she couldn't trust her, and that she was just another enemy? All of a sudden she comes back into her life and makes promises that things can be better, but she can't even know if that's true because so much damage has been done?!

Deep down, she knows one thing is true though. She wants to believe that Ty Lee wasn't lying. She wants to believe that she doesn't have other plans, or that she's keeping any secrets. She's not in this to collect any sort of reward, she just wants to help a person she cares about…

As this feeling in her chest compresses, laying down its anchors to stay with her, she takes a deep breath for the first time since sitting here. Slowly, she begins to rise to her feet, deciding that while these are all things she needs to further think over, there will be plenty of time for that. Right now, she needs to get moving. The daily routine has to be broken. Push-ups, crunches, all of that can wait.

Well, except brushing her teeth. Hours spent puking her guts up has given her some gnarly breath.

The minute she finishes brushing up though, she takes one last look in the mirror of her bathroom. She doesn't want to escape her reflection today. No, she wants to take a long, hard look at the person she sees. This is who she is now, this is what she's become. She has her mother's eyes and her father's face, but that only means so much. She isn't them. She's Azula.

And Azula knows what she has to do.

She starts packing up what little things she has, spare clothes, hygienics, some food and water, just the essentials. While she forces some lunch meat down, she remembers that there's a bin of waste that still stinks up the room, but she decides that it can be someone else's problem now. She literally cannot afford to take the time to dispose of it, she has to act as quickly as possible. She takes one quick peek outside the window, checking to see if there's anything she should be concerned with. From the looks of things though, there are no shady figures. Just regular folks going about their business.

One last deep breath. She sucks it in to try and focus more on her body and her surroundings and less on the troubles in her mind. To begin her new journey, she'll need to keep level headed. This has never been very challenging for her, she's always proven to be capable at blocking out distractions. Even if her foes aren't tangible, she still takes them into consideration. Nothing can slow her down now. She can't let it.

There's nothing left for her here, so she makes her way out the door. Again, she carefully scans the area to make sure things are copacetic, and deciding that they are, she approaches her ostrich-horse tied up to the railing. He seems to be in perfect health thankfully, so she doesn't worry much about untying him to get ready for a ride together. She mounts him, and with no preparations left to make, she leaves this cheap apartment forever.

Noon, she said. And knowing Ty Lee, she'll probably wait there all morning until then just in case she shows up. Town square is just a few blocks ahead, she can be there within minutes if she just keeps going straight. She can make the choice to move past the times that have already burnt away, she can choose to begin a new chapter of her life in the book of Azula. It doesn't matter what father would say, what mother would do, or what anyone else thinks. Her life is her own, and she's in control of her fate. If that means choosing to trust Ty Lee again, then so be it. All she has to do is go forward.

She can see Zuko, she can see Iroh, her dying Uncle Iroh, and she can take steps to restore her honor within the Fire Nation. She won't have to change her name, she can go back to wearing fancy makeup and the best clothes and sleeping in the most comfortable beds. All she has to do is move past her weaknesses and swallow her pride. All she has to do is go forward.

As she nearly approaches the town square, she closes her eyes, knowing who and what waits for her. Her mount moves slowly, almost barely moving at all as it heavily trotts in a straight path. She allows herself one last moment to let the new reality sink in, to consider every course her life could take moving onward. There's a lot of good things that could maybe happen, and there's a lot of bad things that could happen too. She could be with Ty Lee. They could make the journey together. She could have her friend back, she could let go of the things keeping her chained.

All she has to do… is go forward.

She opens her eyes and with one swift motion turns her mount left, making a beeline for the storm gate of Loud Mesa.

* * *

The sun has fully risen over the desert town, and a dry heat wave has come through. Thankfully the town square offers some shaded canopies in the bazaar, and Ty Lee and June have a place to sit and wait. The older of the two women keeps her arms folded while wearing an uninviting look on her face, doing her best to let everyone know that they aren't interested in getting to know any stragglers. She also keeps her eyes peeled for any such troublemakers, and any certain Fire Nation princesses that might decide to show up. She's doubtful about the odds, especially given how long it's been now, but she waits patiently. She has a hefty paycheck waiting for her back home.

That, and seeing the sad puppy dog eyes of her travel mate admittedly gets to her. "It's been two hours," she says to her, trying to sound as considerate as possible. It's not her usual flavor of business etiquette, but most of her clients are gruff old perverts. Ty Lee is much different. She's not looking to hurt anyone. Ironically, she's the only one getting hurt today.

She says nothing to June's remark, instead looking in all directions to see if her old friend has come to a decision. Her arm is a little shaky as she reaches to get a drink of water from her canteen, but when she brings it to her lips, she realizes she's pretty much drank it all. She sighs when she feels the other woman's eyes on her again.

"It's noon, Ty Lee."

Reluctantly, she looks to her now, the disappointment obvious in her eyes. "Let's give her twenty more minutes just to be sure," she suggests, and June softly sighs herself.

"Look kid, I'll wait here all day if you want me to. You're the boss here," she begins with some sternness. She chooses to be less firm with her next words though, hoping to get through with reason and compassion. "But we've waited all morning. If she was going to come, she would have shown up by now." She looks to the side for a moment after watching Ty Lee do the same, then offers her a sincere apology. "I'm sorry."

The younger woman looks to the sandy ground, just like she did before in the desert with Azula. Nothing about sand ever changes, whether it's here or on a beach or wherever. She wishes that some things wouldn't ever change, or that some wouldn't have already, but she isn't a sand bender. She's just a regular girl who's done everything she knows to do.

With a heavy heart, she nods at June, her face scrunching up a little as if she's trying to hold back her real feelings. "We should probably get going then," she quietly tells her, the sadness clear as day in her tone.

It isn't an easy thing for June to witness, but she knows there's not much she can do either. Add the fact that the day will only get hotter as it goes on, and she knows that now is the time to leave Loud Mesa. "Let's go get Nyla, then."

She starts to walk, but Ty Lee doesn't move. She just sits on her stool for a moment longer, taking one last look out at the town to see if she isn't too late. Nothing changes though, Azula doesn't come. The reality sinks in the same way a shell is buried in the sand, and while it makes it hard to stand back up, she musters the strength to do it anyway. She isn't able to meet June's piteous eyes even though she feels them looking at her, instead she just looks forward and takes a breath before following her lead.

Their walk is quiet. While June thinks more about the way back home and all of the arrangements that will have to be made, she knows Ty Lee must be thinking of much more. In the short time she's known her, she's never been this quiet or this somber. In a way, it's a heartbreaking thing. But all there is to do is keep going, and she knows that somewhere deep down, Ty Lee realizes that too.

About two blocks away from the stable where Nyla rests, June begins to feel as if something has changed in the air. She isn't sure what triggers this change in her intuition, but she keeps alert while scanning the area, slowing down her step a little. She starts to notice that there are an awful lot of men in maroon cloaks wandering around, all around the same age and build. Two loiter around the corner of a bar, one stands a few feet ahead of them, and a few more stand in a group where the public latrines are. Something is not right with these men.

Ty Lee begins to sense it too. "June," she whispers to her.

"Say nothing. Let's just act normal," she responds, doing her best to remain calm and act casual as they keep walking along.

It isn't so easy when she meets the gaze of one of the men though. His eyes are an icy blue, almost white, and they stare daggers at her as she moves along. Part of her knows she should just ignore him and keep looking forward, but she's compelled to stare back, somewhat out of pride, more so with concern. What is his problem, and more importantly, what is he going to do about it?

Ty Lee can't help but to sneak glances at all of the other men in matching cloaks, hoping that if anyone tries anything, she can catch them before they're able to act. Despite her paranoia, there's also a resonating curiosity too. Why are these men so familiar? Is it their clothes, their armor? Where has she seen these uniforms before?

Just when she remembers where, she feels a chill run down her spine. She hurriedly turns around, making it obvious that she's suspicious of them, and June notices quicker than a humming-squirrel can flap its wings. A few yards behind them, making themselves the center of attention in a group of pedestrians, a portly older man and very large armored man step forward. They both wear the colors of the old Fire Nation military. The older man strikes a fire with his hand, setting a blaze across the sand to catch everyone's attention and make it known that he is not here to make nice. "Take us to your leader!" he commands with an angry voice, sending fear through all of the townsfolk.

As expected, the other men in cloaks take fighting stances, making it known that they are all part of the same unit. June and Ty Lee keep back to back as they look around, trying to count just how many of them there really are. What's more concerning is the number of innocents gathered around, though. Men, women, and children who stand no chances against firebender thugs. Especially the large man in armor.

Unsure how to handle the situation, Ty Lee turns to her ally. "June!" she whispers.

She thinks it over. There's many ways to go about this, and maybe it's best just to surrender quietly. There's no telling how many of these cronies there are, and if one wrong move is made, someone on the sidelines could get hurt. She's not afraid to get her hands dirty, but one thing she won't do is put people in harm's way without provocation. So she does nothing, easing her stance to prepare for whatever has to happen next.

Until she hears a familiar yelp. She perks up to look in the direction of the stables, listening closely for whatever commotion might be going on over there. Some of the Fire Nation thugs look over too, and sure enough, they're shaken to see a rabid shirshu hurrying its way along the sand to escape their antagonizing. All it takes is one of them trying to toss a fireblast at his feet, and June's raw fighting instincts take over.

* * *

She doesn't know where she'll go, but she won't stay here. That's what Azula thinks to herself as she leaves Loud Mesa. She hasn't made it very far past the storm gate, but there's no going back now. She won't let herself. Could she if she wanted to? Sure. She could go find Ty Lee and decide that her next destination is the Fire Nation capital. She could easily make that choice. But she won't. She can't…

So as she's done many times before, she'll wander the earth through desert, muck, and storm until she finds something new. And if she can't, well… maybe she just doesn't need to be around. There's no place for weakness, after all.

She keeps brooding over these same thoughts as she wanders on, almost too lost in herself to really see what surrounds her. She knows that's not a good thing to do though, especially given how she now has a price on her head, apparently. She can't afford to let that very important fact slip from her mind. One careless mistake could cost her dearly.

And when she begins to hear the sound of several mounts galloping their way in from the distance, she realizes just how important that really is.

She stops in place, doing her best to keep calm and casual. It's likely just a hunting party coming in to check out the cantina or something. She watches diligently as their figures take shape through the sand and heat, drawing nearer with every ostrich-horse's footstep. They don't seem to be going as fast as she thought though… but she soon realizes that is only because they're coming to a stop.

Like a stone, she stands firm, watching as they approach her. The more practical side of her counts how many men there are: twelve in total. Even for someone as powerful as she is, that's a lot of opposition to take on at once. She knows they're here with purpose, she just isn't sure what that purpose is, or who will get hurt because of it. She doesn't want it to be her, though.

The prouder side of her, the Azula that was once destined for the title of Fire Lord, recognizes the patterns of their armor. She sees the masks on their ostrich-horses, all encroached with the same emblem her father created for the purpose of his new empire. The Phoenix King's empire. Seeing it brings the haunting memories of the fateful day back to her, the way her father told her she had to stay behind because he trusted her. But he didn't trust her. No one did.

The girl from the water tribe chaining her up, her brother Zuko taking one of her lightning bolts and just deflecting it like it was a fire blast. Being humiliated and defeated and brought down to the level she is now. She gets tunnel vision, failing to see the way the leader of the horsemen stops before her. He stares down at her from a few feet away, his brown eyes snide and unimpressed like one of the bumpkins from the bar. It takes it a moment for her to come back to, to see the look on his face and the men surrounding him.

Finally, he speaks. "Well now… What's a girl like you doing alone out here?" he asks her with a condescending smile. She hears some of the other mean laugh a little, like she's just a joke to them.

But she's not a joke. She's no one to laugh at or take lightly. She was their Fire Lord once, she was a god among insects. This feeling or pride and anger fuels inside of her like a fire of its own, and she meets the man with a blind fury in her eyes as he keeps smiling at her.

"Well? Are you going somewhere?" he adds.

Deadly still, gravely serious, she just keeps eyeing him. She never averts her gaze, even as she dismounts her ostrich-horse and walks closer to him, showing no fear. The other men laugh at her display, but the leader realizes now she might actually try to step up to him, and he keeps a straight face as he listens to what she has to say.

"Do you know who I am?" she quietly asks, her gaze still just as firm.

He waits a moment as the laughter around him dies down and the mood becomes more somber. "Should I?" he asks, his fingers twitching like he's ready for trouble.

That fire inside of her burns as brightly as it once did when she commanded respect from troops just as these. She shows no hesitation or remorse as she lets them know just who they've disrespected. "I am Azula, princess of the Fire Nation and the rightful heir to the throne of the Fire Lord!"

Once upon a time, those words would make men twice her size cower with fear. They'd fall to their knees, begging for mercy and understanding with tears in their eyes. Just gesturing her fingers could make people move mountains. Now, as she stares into the eyes of a mysterious stranger wearing the same armor those humbled servants would wear, she sees nothing. He's unfazed by her announcement, almost like he doesn't believe her. Frankly, she can't believe _it._

That fire inside starts to toss and turn like the winds are changing, just as they slowly did on the day of Sozin's Comet. Her eyes widen while the man leading the troops looks away from her to meet his right hand man with a look of indifference, and when he looks back to her, she realizes something.

They believe her.

"You shouldn't have told us that," he says, and not even giving a moment to let the words linger, the man to his right tosses a fireblast at the fallen princess. She's fortunate enough to dodge it with a quick back spin, but it will take much more to create space between a dozen firebenders. She musters all of the energy that she can summon in this moment of desperation, creating a large fire wall to draw their mounts back. It's effective, but not for long.

The fire dissipates soon enough, and the ostrich-horses come back to form as their masters command them. The leader waves some of the fumes away from his face, watching as the princess takes off on her mount through a cloud of dust and smoke. "After her!" he orders his troops, and without further hesitation, they begin to chase her.

She hurries to the storm gate, getting as close as she can before swiftly maneuvering off the mount. It will take far too much time to try and open the gate, and she learned yesterday afternoon that running and fighting isn't the best way to fend off a group of raiders. And that was a smaller group of non benders. She wouldn't stand a chance against these guys. Creating that fire wall took a bit out of her, but she feels the anger and adrenaline coursing through her, and she might have just enough energy left to pull off one last move of desperation.

She hears them fastly approaching, but she closes her eyes anyway, focusing her chakras only on her elemental awareness. She channels all of this energy to summon powerful surges of fire at her hands and feet, using them to propel herself into the air like a star. The men watch with disbelief at her amazing display of power, too stunned to do anything about it. The leader isn't such an easy folly though. "What are you doing? Fire at her!" he yells.

They snap out of their stupors to try and aim fireblasts at the now rocketing princess, but they all miss as she steers herself over the city wall. She watches as her world transitions from desert and fire to the familiar sands of Loud Mesa, and by the grace of some higher power, she's able to get a clear a landing without any trouble.

She takes a moment to catch her breath and observe her surroundings. Using so much chi in a short span of time leaves her feeling a little winded, but she knows if she's able to relax for just a moment and create a plan, she'll be able to escape the group of soldiers. Unfortunately, that might prove to be a little difficult, she soon realizes.

Some local guards watching over the gate notice her, and they're armed with bows and arrows. "She's one of them!" she hears one yell. Great. More running.

"Stay back!" she hollers as she motions a quick fire blast across the sand, mostly to create a diversion. Then she starts sprinting to the nearest alleyway, narrowly escaping the line of sight of any other guards. She takes cover behind an indentation in the wall of the building, staying alert for anyone who might try to chase her. However, no one seems to come for her, likely because of the commotion she hears beginning from afar. The soldiers must have gotten in.

Knowing that time is of the essence, she scurries along the alley, keeping low as she moves around corners and bends of the nearby buildings. She's able to have a look through some of the cracks and edges here and there, watching as men and women in both Fire Nation and militia armor fight one another. The firebenders have the clear advantage, and knowing now that they see her as a hostile, that worries her.

There isn't time to worry though. She needs to keep moving and hope for an opportunity to sneak away from the conflict without being seen. This mentality stays with her as she continues along until the end of the alleyway, and she stops to plan her next move. From across the way, she can see another alleyway in between two buildings, and some stairs that could take her to higher ground. It may be a good tactical advantage for her to have an eye in the sky, so she decides it could be worth a shot to make her way over. Peaking around the corner, she sees that the only warm bodies are a decent distance away from here, all focused on fighting each other. "Here goes nothing," she thinks aloud before taking off.

About halfway across, she hears something. "Stop!" It isn't the voice of a gruff fighter, though. It's the cry of a child. She looks around to see where it came from, and a few yards away to her right, she can see three children being hounded by one of the Fire Nation soldiers. "Please! Just leave us alone!" the tallest of the three cries, but the soldier doesn't relent. He just keeps stepping towards them, fires igniting around his hands.

Azula strongly considers just pretending like she doesn't see this. She could just keep going the way she was headed, giving in to bystander apathy and leaving the situation alone. Heck, maybe these kids did something to deserve this treatment. She knows that isn't true though. And seeing the way this man towers over some defenseless kids makes her feel pretty angry. The Fire Nation army used to stand for honor. There was a reason for their raiding and pillaging. This man is just cruel.

As he comes closer to the children, they all cower in fear, hiding their eyes from the monster pursuing them. He actually laughs at their misfortune, but just as he's about to grab one of the kids by their arm, the smile on his face is scrubbed off by a scorching fireball.

His cries of anguish are enough to make the children open their eyes and see what's changed, but before they can even look around to see what may have caused their attacker this new pain, they're surprised by the view of a strange woman nearly flying in with a devastating kick to his chest. They're bewildered upon seeing him fall down to the ground like a mere tackling dummy, and that bewilderment stays on their faces as they look to their new rescuer.

Azula looks back to them and sees this, and while part of her feels relief in helping them, she also gets pretty annoyed. Before she can even ask what they're doing out here in a time like this though, she remembers that the man was one of many as the sounds of battle close in around them. She knows well enough to get the hell out of dodge, but these kids just keep staring at her, helpless.

Realizing there's no time to think, she goes back to Plan A. "This way," she orders them with a stern tone, and she makes a beeline for the alleyway. Despite their shock and awe, the kids are able to get back with the program upon hearing Azula's words, and they dutifully follow her into the alley.

She checks to see that they're keeping up the pace, and fortunately for them, they are. Good, one less hassle. As long as they keep quiet, they shouldn't pose too much of a problem hanging around her for a little bit. Her plan is still to head to the roof of the building to have a look around, and the kids should be fine up there. Once she makes it to the stairs though, a few soldiers make their way around the corner.

She freezes in place hoping that they won't see her, but with the three kids all abruptly trying to do the same, one of the soldiers notices them. "Hey!" he shouts. Realizing that her original plan is now compromised, she quickly decides to have the children follow her through the door to their left.

"Come on!" she barks after opening the door for them and rushing them inside. The soldiers hurry to catch up, but Azula fires two consecutive fireballs to slow them down. She follows the kids close behind into the building, another cantina from the looks of things. The place has been boarded up, and only a small amount of daylight is able to bleed in through some of the uncovered cracks along the doors and windows. A quick look around shows her that they're alone in this place, but that won't be the case for long. They have to act fast.

She's able to have one quick look at the children, using just barely a few seconds to size them up. From the looks of it, they're probably all siblings, probably between the ages of six and twelve from youngest to oldest. They all have similar dark complected skin and hair, and they each wear the same doe eyed, fearful expressions. She never showed any fear at their age. Come to think of it, she's never really shown fear at all.

There's a dissonance in her mind that tells her she should scold them after all of this for allowing themselves to be so weak and helpless, and yet she knows they've done nothing wrong. They didn't ask for any of this. It doesn't really matter either way, what matters is the seconds are burning far too quickly against their favor.

"Find somewhere to hide. Quickly!" she instructs before turning to the door. While she finds a chair to stick underneath the knob, the children heed her advice and disappear to a booth in the back corner to take cover. Azula then places her hand to the knob of the door, just using enough firebending to make the metal scalding hot on both sides. That should slow down anyone who tries to come in just a little.

It must have worked too, because just a few seconds after turning away to devise her next plan of action, she hears a shriek of pain from outside. "AHH!" It actually makes one of the children laugh a little, earning them both an elbow from their older sibling and a glare from Azula. Again, there's no time to worry about scolding children. She either has to find a way out of here, or find a place to hide. Judging from the shadows that pass by the boarded windows and doors though, she decides it's best to simply hide for now and hope luck will be on her side.

She chooses to make a spot for herself behind the counter of the bar, and she nestles herself in there just as the soldiers are able to bust through the front door. She can feel her heart beating rapidly, but she covers her face with her hand to regulate the sound of her breathing. Slowly, footsteps creep onto the concrete, and she does her best to count how many shadows appear on the wall. Two. Just two. For now…

Like a mouse, she doesn't make a sound. She just remains in place, running through the scenarios in her mind about how this might all play out. Today was supposed to be an easy escape from Loud Mesa and the life she made here, but the last twenty four hours have decided to rearrange her fate at every turn. First Ty Lee, now raiders. Things are quiet enough at least. Nothing from the two soldiers, nothing from the three children.

However, she watches as one of the shadows begins to come closer to the counter she hides behind. At first, it looks as if it might just pass by, but she isn't so lucky to avoid them as they step closer and closer to the bar. She was hoping to avoid any further conflict, but it doesn't look like her luck will be changing anytime soon. She might just have to get her hands dirty once again.

As she mentally prepares herself for the fight that will soon ensue, she stares at the end of the bar anxiously anticipating her next opponent. She'll have the disadvantage of being cornered here, but she might be lucky and fast enough to catch them with a fireblast before they can do the same to her. Just like everything else these last two days though, it would seem that the questions change just as she's found the answers.

The sound of glass shattering manifests from somewhere behind her, followed by a woman's voice asking, "What was that?" The shadow along the wall then stops moving, as if the soldier has decided to just wait and see what happens with their comrade.

Azula has always trusted her intuition, and that kept her in a pretty damn good place for a very long time. Right now, she chooses to trust it again as she slowly creeps down the counter, right to where she's beneath the shadow on the wall.

Then, with flawless execution, she hurries up to her feet, catching the head of the soldier above and smashing him down to the counter, knocking him out cold. The other soldier sees this from the other side of the building, and Azula prepares to finish them off with a fire blast. Before she can conjure the chi though, the soldier is hit in the head with a flying glass bottle, causing them to teeter in place before falling onto the floor.

Surprised by just how smoothly this all transpired, Azula ebbs on her energy and looks over to the kids at the booth. They poke their heads out from under the table, all wearing the same looks of disbelief on their faces. For a moment, they just look to Azula as if to ask her what they should do next. Apparently they're smart enough to toss bottles at soldiers, but not capable enough to survive this mess on their own. Wonderful.

She isn't going to be able to babysit them _and_ make it out of this mess on her own though, so she decides to make getting them somewhere safe her top priority. They could make their way up to the rooftop, but there's a lot more raiders outside than there are in here. At the same time, there's also two bodies napping on the floors. Of all the things she's been trained and groomed for over the years, childrearing was not one of them.

She looks to them, they look to her. They all look just as pitiful and helpless as ever, and as annoying as this whole thing is, she knows she has to help them. She has enough things that keep her awake at night, she doesn't want the demise of these children carrying with her as well. The quiet gives her reason to check the windows and busted down door, and after some astute observation, she decides that they can take a moment to communicate.

"Alright, come here," she tells them with a demanding voice. They might be kids, but they need to know she's serious, for their sake and for hers. Like dutiful little servants, they make their way over to her, trying (and failing) not to seem like they're terrified for their lives. She's able to get a better look at each of their individual faces, though they're all so similar that it's hard to even differentiate the three of them. Ty Lee always mentioned having a similar problem…

Never mind that, though. Right now is time for action, not sentiment. So she puts on her princess face and gets serious. "Listen up. I'm going to take you kids up to the rooftop. You're going to stay there and you are not going to go anywhere else until I come back for you, understand?" she orders them, being sure to take a turn staring into each pair of eyes to truly convey her message. The younger two kids just nod with agreement, but the oldest expresses a different sort of somberness in their eyes.

"You're not staying with us?"

She didn't expect to hear that. For a moment, she just keeps looking into their eyes, trying to assert the same dominance as before with her gait. It isn't so easy when seeing the pain in this child's eyes, though. Like having her chi blocked by an eclipse, she feels the fire of discipline dying out inside her, making room for a certain somberness of her own.

She can't afford to give into this feeling though. Not when the stakes are so high. So she forces herself to look away from the child, only taking a second to regain her composure before reasserting her dominance. "You are not to go anywhere else until I come back. Am I understood?" she repeats.

It would seem the children reluctantly come to an agreement regarding her stance on the matter. The oldest sibling takes initiative to follow Azula's lead, and their siblings are quick to follow of their led outside through the door in which they came. Azula halts them with a hand gesture, taking a moment to have a look around and make sure that their way will be clear. No soldiers; good. With little time to waste, they hurriedly make their to and up the staircase leading up to the roof.

Azula is sure to stay low upon making it up top, making sure to keep her eyes open and alert for any trouble that may come their way. It would seem things are safe up here for now, so she creeps further. She looks to the children, and like her, they cower down to avoid earning any unwanted attention. This earns them a little more of her favor, much like the thing with the bottle.

Speaking of which, the youngest carries another glass bottle with them. It may not be the best line of emergency defense, but she has to give them some credit. At least they're willing to put up a fight. She never shows any sentiment though. She's not doing this for nobility or to make new friends, she's doing it to get them out of her way so she can focus on herself. It's all business.

Now up high where she can get a better look at the battlefield around her, she risks standing tall to have an eagle eye view of Loud Mesa's sands. The children say and do nothing, staying low and watching to see what she'll do. She scans the area slowly, starting from east to west to find her best route to escape. Maybe someone will have left an ostrich-horse behind, or maybe the storm gate will be unattended or at the very least weakly guarded. She doesn't find any mounts though, and the storm gate is strongly fortified by Fire Nation insurgents. Wonderful.

Her next idea is to maybe find somewhere to just hang low until this mess blows over. Wherever the battle is weakest, maybe she can find somewhere to just hide or even take out a soldier to steal their armor. Whatever it takes to get out of this place on her own accord. However, everywhere she looks she sees people fighting from both sides. Nowhere is safe from the carnage.

And this certainly includes the town square. As she peers to the bodies of people almost dancing to the drums of war, she recognizes the pink, unarmored clothes of one particular fighter. That was enough to give her away, but the way she moonsaults three times before landing a spin kick on a man twice her size makes it obvious. "Ty Lee…"

The years haven't made her rusty. For someone so cheerful and tender, she still knows how to hang with the best of them in hand to hand combat. It doesn't matter what the opposition comes at her with: swords, fists, fire; she takes them all on with spectacular precision and execution. Like a bumblebee systematically targeting the sweetest spots of a flower, she lands crippling blows on the pressure points of anyone who stands in her way. It's a pretty astounding thing to behold, really.

Even so, she's far outnumbered. Even with an experienced brawler like… uh, whatever the bounty hunter with the shirshu's name is on her side, and the shirshu itself, the firebenders are still too much of a match for them. Soon enough, they will overwhelm them all.

A conflicting juxtaposition of feelings come to Azula. On one hand, she almost wants to watch her fail. It would in some way be like karma coming back to her after what she did back at the Boiling Rock. She only really feels this way for a second though before almost getting upset with herself for even thinking such a thing. That feeling alone is confusing enough, so she just shakes herself of it to focus on the more important drive inside of her. Watching these men and women that once served under her trying to siege all of these helpless people… it disgusts her. They bring nothing but dishonor and disgrace with them.

That isn't how she did things when she was in charge. Everything she did she did for her people to be better, not to simply be savages. They certainly didn't raid helpless places like this with what seem to be very shallow demands.

That alone troubles her. That should be enough to give her a migraine headache. But even with everything going on she can't help this certain remorse. This sympathy she feels because of Ty Lee. Watching her fight for these people, remembering all of the things she's told her these last two days after son many years apart… it hurts her. Humbles her. Fuels her with a passionate fury.

It's all confusing and distressing, but through the grey area, she stumbles upon some black and white. She will take that fury out on these undignified rejects of soldiers, and she will help these people. She will help Ty Lee.

But first, she has to finish up this babysitting gig. So she directs a focused glare at the children, reminding them why they followed her lead in the first place. Then, she crouches back down to their level. "Alright, we're here. Now what's the plan?" she asks them, making sure to look to all three of them. They seem puzzled by her question, as if she's speaking rhetorically or something. "What did I say inside?!" she adds with some impatience.

"Stay here until you come back!" the middle child answers, quickly snapping out of their momentary stupor.

Seeing in their fearful faces that they understand and respect her wishes, she decides there's not much reason to hang around much longer. Not when she has other matters to attend to. "Good. Don't do anything stupid then," she tells them, and with that, she turns to make her leave.

"You will come back for us, right?"

Not again. Something in their voice, something in the look she finds in their eyes as she turns to face them… it niggles its way into her core. She can't help but meet the oldest child's stare, then the middle, then the youngest as they hold their bottle tightly, almost as if they depend on it more than anything else to keep them safe. She can't help but watch them a little longer, not even worrying about dominance or how they're supposed to respect her. Right now, she justs sees them for what they are: some scared kids who don't know what to do. Like before, she knows she can't give into whatever weakness this causes her. Not only because of the raid happening, but because… she just can't.

She turns away, stopping for a moment like she might look back. She doesn't though. And she doesn't answer the question. Instead, she just faces the battle ahead, setting her sights on the best place to make her first strike. It doesn't take her long to decide what she wants to do.

Meanwhile, Ty Lee, June, Nyla, and the few men and women brave enough to take up arms against the raiders continue fighting hard in their uphill battle. It seems like for every one solider they take down, two more take their place. Fire and flames burn the grounds around them, catching buildings and the clothing of unfortunate victims on both sides.

After June counters an attempted haymaker from a soldier with a finishing uppercut, she turns to Ty Lee to see how she's holding up. The younger girl uses her hair to whip the face on a trooper, then takes them out of the equation with a headscissor takedown. Remarkably she makes it right back to her feet right after. "There's too many of them. We can't keep going like this!" June yells.

"We can't give up on these people! They need us!" Ty Lee reminds her. Unfortunately, the little breathing room they had ends prematurely with the arrival of more raiders. Five more firebenders almost seems like nothing after so many waves of foes, but they're getting tired. Their allies are falling.

Worse yet, the five firebenders aren't alone. With them, the big armored tank of a man that accompanied the leader makes his presence known. He carries with him a strange device that's been mechanically connected to his right arm, something the likes of which neither woman has ever seen before. He makes it known what this device does soon enough though. He aims it at the crowd of Loud Mesa fighters, expelling a wave of fire at their feet. They're fortunate enough to fall back before they're caught by the stream of flame, but they know they won't be so lucky a second time. This fight may soon be over…

Ty Lee looks to June, seeing the weary, distraught look in her eyes. She's always seemed so tough, but even she seems to realize defeat in this moment. Looking around, she finds the same looks on the faces of all her allies. These poor people have fought so hard… but it might have been for nothing. This might be the end for Loud Mesa.

Inside, only a glimmer of hope stays alive inside of her. This faith that somehow she can still help these people save themselves. With every second and fire that burns away though, that glimmer starts dwindling, almost completely dying inside.

But only almost.

Everyone is surprised to hear the sounds of powerful flames firing from the sky, accompanied by a blue inferno shining brightly before them. She has to visor her eyes to get a proper look at it, but when she does, she realizes just what this inferno is. "Azula!"

Sure enough her old friend, the princess of fire herself rockets from one rooftop to the next, aiming a fireball down at her opponents as she does. It lands near the big armored hulk, exploding into a blaze that catches the legs and torsos of his nearby comrades. As they run around in circles to try and save themselves, the big guy looks up to her, his eyes hateful with every second. In his new adversary's eyes, he sees the same hate. The same willingness to do battle until the bitter end.

She doesn't grace him with her gaze for too long though. Before committing to her new cause, she needs one other person to acknowledge her presence, to bear witness to her arrival in this playing field. They need to know why she's here, they need to see what she's come to do. Her eyes look down to Ty Lee, and soon enough their gazes meet with powerful synergy between them.

They don't stare very long, and no words are said. But in this mutual gaze, Ty Lee is able to understand something. She's able to understand why her friend came back and why she's set fire to the sand just as she's done now.

She's here to fight by her side.

* * *

**I don't really have anything to say after this one lol. I have a couple things to run by y'all, but I think it can wait til next time. So I guess I'll just say thanks for reading and that I hope you enjoyed, and hopefully I'll see you true believers soon for chapter 3! :)**


	3. High Noon

**Chapter III: High Noon**

Fire is alive. Once the first flames begin to spark in one, there's so many different ways it can shape and affect the world around it. Like a person, the things around it can transform it into something beautiful and helpful to those around it, but those same things can make it a devastating force that can leave a place in ruin. It's always scared Ty Lee a little to watch her friend, arguably the most powerful firebender on earth, scorch the earth beneath her feet; but there's always this serenity as well. Just like everything else, Azula brings such confidence and control to the battle with her. It's as if she has this aura of battle meditation that inspires allies and weakens enemies.

That's the thing about fire though. It isn't something people are able to have such rigid control of. Most benders hold back, afraid of what they can do if they push themselves too hard. Azula mastered it, and with every brush and stroke of red and blue on her canvas of battle, it's impossible for others not to be astonished by her raw power.

They think it's the best she's capable of. Then… she shows them what truly makes her such a formidable foe. Lightning bending.

There's no chaos with lightning. It's the purest form of energy that a firebender can muster, and while it takes years of discipline and training to master, once a person is able to control it, they can become a one person army. Azula makes herself a literal shining example here on the rooftops of Loud Mesa as she propels herself from one building to another, striking lightning from just her fingertips at the raiders below. She never uses enough energy to kill, just enough to incapacitate. As dishonorable as her enemies are, she maintains hers. It's pretty much all she has left at this point.

When she gets a moment to compose, she takes a look across the sea of rooftops. She's created enough distance between herself and the children she has made it her mission to keep safe, and while she can't see them from her current position, she knows that they haven't gone against her orders. For the time being, they'll be safe.

Which means that all she has to worry about is using the high ground to her advantage.

Like a firestorm, she blasts raiders with fireballs and lightning strikes, making short work of at least a dozen of them within the span of a couple short minutes. There's many more where they came from, though. She watches as foot soldiers from all directions begin concentrating their efforts on flanking her, and while she should be concerned, there's a part of her that actually welcomes the challenge. It makes her feel powerful, alive… in control.

Meanwhile on the sands, Ty Lee and June work on creating an attack plan on the raider's own powerhouse in the armored man with the fire cannon. With the help of Nyla and some of the local militia, they've created a safe distance to hide behind some of the nearby buildings, making sure to stay alert for any immediate threats while dividing their attention to one another.

"Your friend is pretty impressive," June tells Ty Lee, motioning her head in the direction of Azula. Ty Lee doesn't have to look back to know that what she's saying is true, either. She's seen Azula in action against armies before. Against her fellow Kyoshi warriors. Heck, she's even gone toe to toe with the Avatar himself. Azula can handle herself, that's a given.

What she really worries about is everyone else. The men and women defending themselves from this needlessly cruel attack, and the other families of the town hiding in the safety of their hostels. While Azula is a war machine in her own right, there's still dozens of raiders, and their tank man is making short work of everything that gets in his path.

"We can't keep going on like this," she begins, taking a pause to mind the boom of an explosion from not too far away. It startles her, but even more so, it reminds her what's at stake. "We need to make sure all of these people are safe. Azula can't take all of the raiders by herself."

"I dunno, she's doing a pretty good job of it right now," June quips, but the serious glare Ty Lee gives her lets her know to be serious again. "What do you suggest we do?"

There isn't much time to think and she knows it. She's not the strategist that Azula or Suki is, she's just a girl who happens to know how to paralyze enemies and block their chis in a matter of seconds. Even so, she knows in her heart that two things need done if the fight is to be won. One, someone has to take down the big guy. And two, someone has to help out Azula.

She also knows that she can only do one. Maybe there's some selfishness to her decision, maybe there's not. But she knows what she wants to do as she stands back up to ready herself for another fight. "I'm going to go help Azula. She needs someone watching her back," she says.

Although not entirely sold on the game plan just yet, June begins to come on board as she stands up too. "Okay, so what do you need me to do?"

She thinks it over for a second, looking beyond the corner of her shelter to see what things are like out there. The battle still wages hard between the townsfolk and the raiders, and June's dutiful shirshu companion Nyla is a powerhouse in his own right as he strikes soldier after soldier with his poisonous, paralyzing tongue. Watching him for a few seconds gives her the next half of her plan.

"Together we'll work on evening the field a little bit. We'll take out as many raiders as we can, then turn our attention to the big guy with the fire thingy," she articulates the best she can. It's a little amusing for June, but mostly pretty cool to see Ty Lee take charge like this.

"I thought you said you were going to watch Azula's back?"

"I am," she clarifies. "When the big guy sees just how tough you and Nyla are, he'll start chasing after you. Then me and Azula can take out the rest of these jerks while you work on distracting him!"

The bounty hunter thinks it over for a moment with a thoughtful expression, but the dubiousness on her face soon changes into a look of pleasant surprise. "You know, this might actually work," she tells her, earning a smile from the younger woman. Then, she smiles too. "Alright, let's do this."

* * *

Azula gets lost in her own little world for a while firing away at raider after raider. A fireball here, a lightning strike there… it's been a long time since she's felt like this. Sure, her life is in potentially grave danger, and the raiders retaliating with their own fire blasts reminds her of that. For the most part though, she feels pretty good about herself. Not enough to lose focus because of arrogance, but enough to keep herself poised and capable of capturing the momentum she continues to gain.

She'll need it too, she realizes. The raiders have deduced at this point that her greatest advantage has been keeping to the rooftops, so they too begin to make their way up high to start battling with her. Occasionally she looks to the rooftop where the kids stay hidden to make sure that no soldiers have compromised their position, and thankfully, it would seem none of them will stray that far. She can just worry about kicking more firebender butt.

Her attention is momentarily curbed by the sound of a loud whistling, one that she follows to see that bounty hunter Ty Lee came into town with. After punching and kicking two goons, the large shirshu makes its way over to her, letting her mount him so that they can run the field together. The tactic piques Azula's curiosity, but they can handle themselves. She's got a wave of raiders to focus on.

One appears from the left, then the right. Straight ahead, one more climbs up the gutter of the parallel building. A quick glance behind her helps her see that her back is clear, but just to be sure, she conjures a fire wall on the ground closest to her. It doesn't seem to catch anything, but if she's lucky its flames will stay alive long enough to offer her rear some protection. "Let's do this," she says under her breath.

The soldier to her left is closer, so she decides to try and take him out with a swift fireball. It connects and sends him reeling off the rooftop. The soldier to her right is close enough now that she can just try some hand to hand combat to bring him down, and that's exactly what she does as she counters a fiery fist by grabbing the back of his armor and then punching him right in his face. It knocks him out instantly, and she shoves him away like a feather. Looking ahead, the straight forward raider makes his way onto her rooftop now, followed by three more goons behind him.

She just cracks her neck and her fists as she welcomes the challenge.

Down below, Ty Lee and June have similar luck as they systematically pick off more raiders. They have the disadvantage of being more outnumbered, including the big guy with the fire cannon coming after them now. Despite the circumstances, everything is going according to plan. Ty Lee utilizes her superior agility and acrobatic skills to practically fly around her opponents and chi block them, all while avoiding the infernos of the big guy's flame cannon. It's unfortunate that the settlers' properties can't dodge them. Not just because they create further danger for herself and her allies, but these are places where families live. These terrible raiders are taking so much from them…

June meanwhile focuses on directing Nyla throughout the battleground. Her shirshu is quick and nimble enough to steer clear of fire blasts from the firebenders, but also big and strong enough to just tear through the crowd with powerful strikes from its paws and tail. His best weapon is his tongue though, striking every enemy he can to completely incapacitate them. The numbers keep dwindling until there's no one left for them to fight, and that's when they catch up with Ty Lee to begin the second phase of their plan.

They watch as she does an acrobatic flip over two raiders to avoid the blast of big guy's cannon, putting the soldiers right in the blast range. If not for their and natural resistance to fire, they might not have been able to survive the attack. This quickly becomes a nonissue for their enemies though. They know now that their main concern needs to be the big guy.

Ty Lee sees June mounted on Nyla, and with just a look and a nod, they're able to communicate accordingly. Like a monkey-spider, Ty Lee hops from surface to surface until she's yards away, leaving the rest of the ground level goons to June and Nyla. Like clockwork, the shirshu works on picking off some of the fighters, taking down three within a matter of seconds. As planned, this catches the big guy's attention. He meets June with a cold stare, narrowing his eyes without a word to show his displeasure with her interference. She just smiles at him though, taunting him with a look that says, " _Come and get it."_

He accepts her challenge, aiming his cannon at her and Nyla to try and blast them with a stream of fire. Luckily they're fast enough to escape it, but that's as far as they go before waiting. Again June smiles, this time with even more audacity in her teeth and eyes. This really pisses the big guy off, and like a game of cat and mouse, the chase is on.

Meanwhile Azula keeps fending off raider after raider. Where she had a break between the first and second wave of them, now they just keep steadily coming after her. She loses count of how many flame blasts and fireballs she tosses around, or how many lightning strikes she has to use to take out ranged attackers.

The situation gets bad enough that she eventually is forced to jump from one building to the one behind it to create space, but even then, it would seem her luck is running thin. As she lands, she sees a raider climb his way up the ledge behind her, then the one next to her. All while they start charging in from the building ahead. She stands her ground though, ready to fight each and every one of them if she has to.

Soon enough, she doesn't have to fight them alone anymore. She takes out the guy behind her and the guy next to her, but one of the raiders charging ahead is faster than she anticipated. He comes within inches of hitting her with a debilitating blow, but before he can connect, he's struck from behind with several chops in succession. Like a paperweight he falls to the ground and stays there, completely robbed of all movement.

Azula looks to see what has changed, and that's when she sees Ty Lee. The two young women meet eyes for only a moment, Ty Lee offering just a little smile. She's here to return the favor, it would seem. The sentimentality doesn't last very long though. At least a dozen more raiders are coming their way, and they're all looking for a fight. Alone, Azula welcomed the challenge. With Ty Lee by her side, she actually looks forward to it.

"Just like old times, huh?" Ty Lee says with a little trepidation. Azula doesn't respond with anything but a glance though, ready to put words and feelings to the side to focus on battle. And she does just that as the raiders draw near. First, she fires a lightning bolt at the edge of the roof, causing two of the soldiers to fall to the ground below and effectively incapacitating them. The others are able to narrowly avoid the elemental attack though, and they hop over to fight close range.

They try to use firebending attacks of their own, but Ty Lee's athleticism allows her to practically soar over them to get in close from behind. She then starts meeting the raiders with flurries of blows, putting down two of them at the same time before turning to the raider behind her to do the same with a crane kick to the jaw.

Azula's technique is a little more straight forward. Throw a fire blast if they're close, punch them in the face if they're closer. The two young women keep up the onslaught of offense until there are but three raiders left on the rooftop to challenge them. As Azula takes one of them out with a leg sweep takedown, Ty Lee tries to chop one of them in the neck. Unfortunately for her, the raider is able to grab her by the arm before she can connect. Like a ragdoll, he grabs her by her other arm too, and he tosses her like a projectile towards Azula.

"Ahhhh!" she screams as she hurdles towards the other girl. It's almost too fast for her to even notice, but Azula's cat-like reflexes allow her to instinctively catch Ty Lee by her shirt as she's about to crash into her. They do a 180 spin on the ledge of the roof, Ty Lee nearly falling off completely. Azula's grasp is firm though, just like her footing, and for a moment the two of them just idle on the ledge together, looking into each other's eyes.

There isn't much time to stare long. Ty Lee is safe, that's all that matters… besides the two remaining raiders behind them. Azula glances back before meeting Ty Lee's eyes again, and the acrobatic fighter gives her a nod to go ahead and do whatever she needs to do to take them out. It takes a second for her nonverbal message to get through, but when it does, Azula doesn't hesitate.

Taking a page out of the raider's book, she spins Ty Lee around to send her flying towards the enemy. This time, Ty Lee motions herself into a savate kick position, and she's able to strike the raider like a missle to eliminate him, leaving only one raider left.

He looks to Ty Lee, then Azula. Both girls meet him with unforgiving scowls. He then looks all around to the rooftops and the sands below, looking to see where his brothers have gone. Unfortunately for him, it looks like they've all been taken care of.

So he does what any practical survivor would do in his position. "I surrender!" he cries as he throws his hands up.

For the first time in a long time, Azula smiles at Ty Lee. Maybe it's not over friendship and happiness and goodwill towards man, but hey! It's a smile. "Would you do the honors?" she asks her more chipper friend. Ty Lee just smiles back, then knocks out the raider with a couple chops.

The two girls take a moment to catch their breaths and have a look around to see if the battle is truly won. Overall, it's looking pretty good with just how many armored bodies are unconscious on the ground. It's almost enough for Azula to praise Ty Lee for her skill and help. But only almost. When she sees her smile at her again, her mind wanders back to the old days. Her own smile quickly wanes in favor of a frown because of that.

Ty Lee notices the change in demeanor as she turns away from her, and it forces the little joy she had to fade away as well. She turns to have a look at the ground again, timidly holding her hand over her arm.

Suddenly, they hear the familiar yelping of a shirshu.

* * *

It's been the same song and dance for a few minutes now for June and her large new armored friend. She has Nyla run around in circles hiding behind buildings and pillars here and there and waiting for fire, only to run and repeat. It's not her favorite strategy, but it's the only way she can create safety for herself, and that's the only way she stands a chance of bringing him down. Around the third time finding an empty hut to hide behind, she decides to dismount Nyla to begin a flanking strategy. "I'm going to try and get behind him. Keep him busy," she tells her animal friend. He yips as if to understand.

June takes off to hide elsewhere as the big guy predictably fires his cannon and scorches the shack. As she creeps her way through a narrow alley to the next formidable structure, she hears the sound of the blazing inferno taking down every board of someone's home, then her shirshu yipping again as he runs away from the assailant. Just as he did before with June on his back, he hurries around to try and gain an opening with the firebender, but his cannon is too dangerous with so much distance, and he's forced to take cover behind another structure. All the while, June keeps circling the perimeter, looking to get her own advantage on their enemy. She isn't sure how she'll do it with just how big he is and just how much armor he wears. He's practically more machine than man. She chooses to rely on her perception for a little bit though to see what she can learn about him.

From the safety of her cover, she watches to see just how his weapon works. There don't appear to be any cords or cables, it's actually just an apparatus that he sticks his hand in and carries around. It's long barrel simply adds range and mobility to his fire blasts. On one hand, this makes her feel helpless, like there's not much she can really do to stop him. On the other, she knows that taking away the gun will take away his range. There's dread with that though, because she isn't sure how she'll do it without him flattening her right after.

As she watches him burn down yet another building to try and get to her beloved shirshu, she remembers what's at stake. All of these innocent people and their very livelihoods are on the line today, and she might be the only thing standing between his victory or defeat.

So she tries to get closer, creeping around to get behind the building closest to her left. There's a pretty sizable gap between them, so she knows she'll have to expose herself for a moment to run over. If she times this right though, she might be able to do it while Nyla keeps him occupied. Like before, Nyla hurries to try and blitz towards the gunner, but his powers are too fast for him, and he starts charging up his fire cannon again. Sensing this, the shirshu hurries to take cover behind a nearby building.

Unfortunately, the big guy isn't as dumb as he looks. June learns this as she starts to run, catching eye of the big man just as he prepares his next attack. Instead of firing for Nyla directly this time, he chooses to fire at the base of the building before he can even hide behind it. It begins to crumble, and as Nyla tries to rebalance himself after an abrupt halt, the wreckage falls and tumbles down on him. He cries out in pain as the rock and mortar bury him, and seeing such an awful sight breaks through June in a way she simply can't help. "Nyla!"

Big guy hears her, and he turns to see where she stands. Like a doe caught in a spotlight, she idles for a moment, taking in the reality that she now faces. It's just him and her now; her beloved Nyla has been eliminated… perhaps permanently. There's not enough time to worry about him though as she faces the might of the armored man, and she knows she can't face him head on. Instead, she runs, just barely escaping the trail of fire that soon follows her.

Azula and Ty Lee hear the shirshu's last cries, realizing what has happened. The smell of ash permeates the air with all that's been done to this humble desert town, and Azula follows the smoke in the air to see just where it's coming from. That's where the armored man is, she realizes. None of this will matter until they can take him down.

She looks to Ty Lee once more, searching for similar understanding. She isn't so focused on the same thing though as she looks out to the town, seeing how its bright glow has been replaced by overcasting grey from the destruction these insurgents have wrought. Families of innocents have been hurt forever because of this attack, and it breaks her heart to know this.

There's no room for weakness, Azula always tells herself. But in this moment, she can't help but let some of Ty Lee's pain contage her. She too takes but a moment to respect what's happened, to give purpose to an otherwise mindless battle. She doesn't know these people, but she knows they've done nothing wrong, even if they are weak.

People like those kids.

She hurries to check the rooftop where she left them, trying to see from this distance if they've moved or if they're even there. From where she stands though, she sees nothing. Are they still taking cover? What if the smoke is heavier there than she realizes and they've decided to move? Or what if they were stupid enough to stay? What if they weren't given the choice because of some raiders? It shouldn't be her responsibility to care right now, but for some reason… she just does.

Her reverie is broken when Ty Lee calls to her. "Azula, look…"

They watch as some of the firebenders below slowly come back to their feet, ready to start fighting again. Like undead zombies, their resolve is too firm to be weakened by anything less than finality. They all understand just as well as Azula and Ty Lee do that as long as they have the support of their heavy gunner, they'll be victorious.

Again, Azula and Ty Lee's eyes meet. This time, there's a greater sense of desperation from both of them. For Ty Lee, she sees something she's very seldom known from Azula. She's becoming frightened. Maybe it's only because she doesn't want herself to get hurt, or maybe even because she just doesn't want to lose. It's so hard to tell if there's anything selfless inside her amber eyes, but Ty Lee chooses not to dwell on that. She came back to help, and that's what counts.

Azula on the other hand sees something all too familiar from her old accomplice. It's a certain panic that comes with weakness, fear, and distrust. All of the things that she showed back at Boiling Rock. This is the part where she cracks under pressure, where her scrawny backbone gives in and she accepts defeat.

Or so she thinks until she speaks up. "We have to help them!" she cries, catching Azula off guard. The fear she thought she saw has been replaced by a different kind of desperation, the will to fight for every bit of strength that she has. "These people have done nothing wrong! These raiders are just bullies looking to take what isn't theirs! It's not right and you know it!"

There's serious dissonance in seeing Ty Lee express such passion and fury. It's so unlike the person she knew three years ago, and while she hears what she says, she isn't sure she can believe it. She certainly isn't sure what to say either, so she just looks at her with a confused, quiet expression.

That just adds fuel to her fire, and she actually grabs her by her arms. "We have to do something Azula!" Again, she says nothing. Her eyes become angrier upon feeling Ty Lee's touch, but when Ty Lee doesn't show any remorse, that impatience ebbs in favor of the same stupor as before. It just burns inside of Ty Lee, and it doesn't take long for her to simply give up. "Ugh! Fine, I'll go take care of this myself!"

Before she can trudge too far past Azula, she feels her grab her by her arm. "Wait," she quietly says. Ty Lee turns to face her, and Azula takes a deep breath before meeting her gaze once more. There's a new look of focus, something more similar to the Azula she knows so well. At the same time, it's as if she's almost accepted a loss of her own. "We need to work on taking down that metal man. As long as he's standing, the rest of them will just keep getting back up. And even if they don't, he'll burn this whole place to a crisp if we don't stop him."

Although flustered, Ty Lee understands that she's right. She tries to calm down enough to converse this to an understanding. "Alright, so what are you thinking? Because we can't leave those other guys alone. They'll find the townspeople and hurt them!" She says nothing though, and Ty Lee can't help but get excitable. "Azula!"

Belatedly, Azula bores a glare into her eyes. At first she assumes that maybe she's upset over her impatience, but what she finds is actually a different kind of anger. A vengefulness not for Ty Lee, but for the rest of the world. "I'll take care of the hostages and the raiders. I need you to find your bounty hunter and take out the gunner."

"What?!" she questions, but Azula is quick to explain herself.

"Before you get your panties in a bunch, listen to me. My bending is only so powerful against his metal armor. You on the other hand, you have the speed advantage," she starts. "If you can flank him, you can use your chi blocking attacks to weaken him through his armor. Block his chi, take him down."

She thinks it over for a moment, the concern evident in her face and tone. "I don't know Azula. Are you sure it will work?"

She turns away to look to the ground. "It worked on me, it can work on him…"

Hearing those words hurts Ty Lee, but she doesn't have the luxury of guilt right now. Not with things so dire. So she swallows her pride, readying herself for what she needs to do. However, as Azula turns away, she can't help but wonder just how true her intentions are. Old habits die hard, after all. "Wait!"

Azula merely turns her head to hear what she has to say. Although somewhat worried about how she might react, Ty Lee braves forward. "Please help them Azula. They need us."

The tension is palpable between them for a moment, and even more so as she watches Azula's fist clench. She doesn't turn to face her though, she just keeps walking forward to the ledge of the roof. "I know what I'm doing." With that, she propels herself across the sky, hovering over the rising raiders that ready themselves for another battle. They all look to the sky to see the blue flames from her feet and hands, and before they can have a chance to change their minds about this, she comes soaring down like a phoenix. "Ahhh!"

Ty Lee protects her eyes for only a moment as she rears back, and when she feels safe to open them again, she hurries forward to have a quick look. Down below, she watches as Azula systematically fights through soldier after soldier with fire, flames, and fists. Where she was worried she might not be able to handle all of them alone before, she now worries she might handle herself too well.

Unfortunately, she has another powerful firebender to worry about. And if she doesn't find him soon, there's no telling what could happen.

* * *

The man in metal is relentless in his pursuit. June runs as hard and as fast as she can, but he just keeps coming. It seems like he only gets faster too as she grows tired and weary, her head getting heavy with all the smoke that fogs the world around her. She has to cover her mouth as she can't help but cough, desperately looking for any place to hide or escape his onslaught. There's still so much pain in her heart to think that her most loyal friend and companion in Nyla may not be alright, but she has to keep going. She can't let his sacrifice be in vain.

Eventually, she thinks she may have found some refuge. One of the buildings nearby has a window wide open, and if she's quick enough, she may be able to hurdle in without his detection. She turns her head for only a second to see nothing but a fire slowly dying out, and beyond it, the face of her nemesis. There's no emotion to be seen, only cold callous. As quickly as the first flame died though, he's quick to reignite, sending another blaze fast behind her. "Ahhh!" she screeches as she hurries to escape it, but the sudden blast is too much too soon. It creates a small explosion on the ground, enough to send her crashing into a nearby cabbage cart.

It's all so much for her. The smoke, the pain, the fire. She tries to power through it and raise herself up, but he's too fast for her, and she's too weak. Her arms give out, and she falls to her face again. She just barely opens her eyes to look ahead, seeing the face of the iron titan that will soon put her life to an end…

As he raises his cannon, she shuts her eyes. The last thing she sees will not be this. It will be Nyla, her parents, Ty Lee; the people who have loved her and given her reasons to smile over the years.

As it all was happening, Ty Lee ran. She fled through the fire and smoke, through the falling ash over a decimated Loud Mesa. She fought through the feelings of fear for Azula and the raiders, she fought her anguish over that same girl and everything that's happened today, everything that's happened over the last four years. She couldn't give up, these people needed her. June needed her. Zuko, Iroh… Azula…

She ran as hard as she could until she made it to the city limit, where more sand takes the ground than brick and mortar. Fire rises in every direction, burning down places where people made their livings. As it burns, she looks through the smoke to see him: the metal man. From where she stands, she sees more of a machine than a person. He stands still, looking to the ground before him as if to take in all the destruction. She tries to see just what he's looking for, and when she sees it, she panics. "June…"

She closes her eyes. He won't be the last thing she sees. As she hears the sound of his cannon blazing, her heart nearly stops in her chest. This is it, the end of her life.

However, nothing happens. No pain, no suffering. There's the sound of a high pitched "Yah!", and the warmth of a new fire rising beside her.

The metal man reels back for a second to recover from the sudden blow to his head, then he shakes himself of the grogginess to see what happened. He tries looking around, and as he turns left, he feels a sudden jolt to his side, then another, then another. Finally he sees what's happening, a small brunette girl with a long braided ponytail is attacking him.

Stunned to see that such a small girl could get such a lucky shot on him, he has to just watch her for a moment before she realizes she's been caught. Then she looks up to him with a look of terror, a look he's seen from so many people before. At first, it's kind of amusing. Then, he sees the dents in his armor from where she socked him.

She sees his eyes widen, and she knows now to run like heck. "RAHHHH!" the man screams, furiously firing his cannon in the air. As she runs to find cover, she notices he favors his ribs after making his battle cry. Just a few more strikes like those, and she might actually be able to pull this off.

* * *

One by one she takes them down. At first she keeps count, almost like a game of sorts to help her keep focused on surviving the battle. At some point though, she stops counting. She starts seeing not the faces of strangers, but the face of her father. The careless black eyes, the scorning grimace he always wore, the look of a man who is a monster. Who made her a monster. Who looks like her. "AHH!" she cries as she punches him right in the face, sending him down to the ground below.

She can't help it, she has to grab her head with her hands to grasp what sanity she has. This can't be real, she can't be fighting her father.

As she opens her eyes, she takes in the world around her. At her feet, there are raiders left and right, all with strange, unfamiliar faces. When she looks to the man she just knocked down, she sees the same thing. A nobody.

She doesn't know what she's more relieved to see; that this was the last of them, or that it isn't the fallen Fire Lord Ozai. Regardless, there's still much more that needs to be done. These may not be the last of the raiders, and there are people that need her help. People like three children she made a promise to.

She picks up the pace as she makes her way over to the alleyway where she left them, keeping her eyes opened for any surprises. There may be raiders lurking around, or even… her. Always watching, always waiting, always ready to tell her she's a savage. A disappointment. A monster.

She can't see her now, she won't! She has to help people! Doesn't she know that? Doesn't she know that her daughter is only the way she is because of her?! Because of father?! She shakes herself, trying to see what's really ahead of her and not everything that's behind from a life she's tried so hard to forget. "Get out of my head!" she cries as she makes it to the stairwell. Finally, she's made it. Quickly she ascends the steps, anxious to see what's happened to those three children. Unlike her parents, she'll be there for the kids she's taken responsibility for…

That's what makes it so heart shattering to see that they've disappeared.

She stops and stares for a while, just looking at the same spot on the roof where she left them. She remembers their faces, they had to be real. They had to be. She keeps looking all around, searching in every direction for any signal or sign that they were here, that they've gone somewhere. She finds nothing though, and she doesn't even know what names to call out to try and find them.

Instead, she just hears her heavy breathing as she hurries back down the steps, making her way into the boarded up cantina where she last saw them. There's no one inside though, not even the two soldiers that she- that _they_ took out.

Finally, she just has to stop. For a moment, she just stares at the ground imagining their faces in her mind's eye, then the god forsaken faces of her mother and father. She never sees what she wants to see, she only ever sees the world for what it is.

Even when she tries to do the right thing.

* * *

It's quiet. He looks around in all directions, but he sees nothing but the beautiful destruction he's brought to this weak village. As great as fire and smoke are though, they mean nothing unless he can be victorious. And he can't be victorious until he finds the little wench that had the audacity to kick him in the head.

Like a chameli-jaguar, he methodically paces the sands in search of his prey. He underestimated her, it would seem. He thought her lucky shot was a mere fluke, but when he saw the way she could flip and fly around him like a circus freak, he realized she was a legitimate threat. The sooner he takes her out, the better. She's the only thing standing in his way of conquest, now.

Slowly and carefully he paces the sands, trying to check every nook and cranny of every alley and every building to see if she may be hiding somewhere. She was so small and petite though. She could literally be any-

Like before, she pops up from out of nowhere, striking him with four more flurrying blows. One to his thigh, two more to his ribs, and a kick to the arm. He lets out a wail of pain as he drops his cannon to grab hold of the tender spot. "Ahhhh!" As he does, Ty Lee looks to the fallen gun. This is her chance. She can find a way to destroy it now and be done with it. She looks to him, she looks to it. She looks to him, she looks to it. She looks to him… he looks back. He looks to the cannon…

Quickly, Ty Lee tries to grab hold of the barrel. If she's fast enough, she might just be able to bend it down the middle or something to break it. However, the big guy's rage proves to be a powerful asset, because he's faster in swatting her away with the back of his hand. "Yah!" she cries as she's sent reeling back.

As she sits herself up to recover from the winding blow, she watches as he picks the gun up by the barrel. He doesn't even bother equipping it again, instead, he just starts darting after her while carrying the thing like a bludgeoning mallet. "RAH!" he roars.

Quickly she begins scurrying away, hurrying to her feet as he hammers the cannon down to try and smash her. She luckily evades, but the brutish tyrant just keeps coming. His step is a little slow with his thigh being injured, but he's still quick enough to keep up a steady pace with her. Still a little worn down herself, Ty Lee just focuses on running. No flips, no dives, just running away as he follows close, alternating between flailing the cannon and tossing fireballs with his free hand.

The chase continues on, but Ty Lee knows she can't keep running like this or she'll be doomed. She wishes Azula were here to help, or even June and Nyla somehow. But they're not. She realizes she is on her own as her eyes follow the sand on the ground.

_The sand._

One quick glance behind shows her that a fireball is headed her way, and she quickly ducks to avoid it. Keeping her head turned, she sees that Mister Metal is ready to swing his weapon again. She knows her idea is risky, but it may actually be the only way to stop him; use his momentum against him. So she stops in place, planting her feet firm like an earth bender as he flails the gun once to the right. She swiftly ducks and twists to avoid the blow, grabbing a handful of sand as she does. He comes back around with a swing to the left, and this time she jumps up to avoid it smacking her.

At his eye level, she tosses the sand right in his face, catching him right in the eyes. "WAAAAAH!" he hollers in pain, grabbing his face after to try anything to help subside the agony. He holds his eyes for a few seconds as he blindly swings his weapon around to try and catch the little shit who just sandbagged him, but he hits nothing. She played him like a fool.

As his eyes finally well up enough to help him see a little, he looks out to the world. There's the same flame, smoke, and sand as before; as well as a pile of rubble where it looks like something smashed into it. There's nothing there though. He doesn't pay attention too long to it, deciding that he should rely on his other senses to try and use the girl's own method against her. She made him vulnerable to attack, after all.

He waits a minute before walking, not even going anywhere in particular. He listens close, but he hears nothing. He doesn't smell her, he doesn't see her. Like a ninja, she's made herself invisible. But years of battle have given him a sense that most people just don't have. It's an instinct that just tells him when something is about to go wrong. Like how she's about to attack him from behind with a flying kick.

He turns around at the last second to elbow her right in the leg. "AH!" she yelps as she hits the ground. It takes a moment for her to open her eyes, but she isn't given the chance to fully recover. A heavy foot steps down on her chest, pressing her down like an anvil to keep her from going anywhere. Her eyes then meet the dark, evil eyes of her attacker, eyes that before were cold and lifeless. Now, they're just full of rage.

There isn't even time for her life to flash before her eyes. She feels her heart pound heavy in her chest as he raises his cannon, ready to smash it down on her and end her life for good. It's too painful to watch, so she closes her eyes.

After a few seconds of waiting though, she hears a strange sound, and she has to open them again to see why she isn't dead. When she does, she sees the way the metal man's face has changed, contorted as if he's lost control of himself. Soon enough, it becomes clear that he has, because he falls down to the ground right on his back. Again, there's no flashing of life before her eyes or anything that dramatic, she just looks up after taking a deep breath to see that a large shirshu stands over the man of metal.

"Nyla!" Ty Lee happily cries, and he snorts at her as if to let her know he's proud of what he's done.

Slowly, she makes it back to her feet, favoring her leg a little after being struck by the iron fighter. She makes sure to have a look at him one last time, checking to make sure that he's really down for the count. He almost looks dead the way his eyes are glazed over and the way his tongue flaps from his mouth, but she knows better. Nyla was just able to get one good tongue lash to the back of his exposed head. Realizing that, she goes over to the furry creature to give him head scratchies. "Good boy, Nyla! Good boy!" He just purrs a little, then perks up upon sensing something.

Ty Lee turns to see what it might be, but thankfully it's just June making her way over. Her rib is hurt from the looks of it, but she seems fine otherwise as she limps over. Ty Lee smiles at her, but June decides to have her own look at the big guy to make sure he's down before responding. "You did it…"

Hearing those words stuns Ty Lee a little. In a way, she's right. Before Nyla showed up, she was the one to fight him off. She got a couple good hits on him, and even saved June's life. It's an unusual thing to know that she didn't just play the role of sidekick this time, but that she actually held her own. Even given the circumstances, she can't help but be a little proud of that fact.

Even so, she feels wrong taking more credit than she deserves. "Don't thank me; thank Nyla! He's the one who saved the day!"

If he could smile, he probably would. And knowing that makes June smile as she steps her way over to her favorite furry friend to nuzzle against him. "I thought I lost you for a second, boy." They share their embrace for a moment longer as Ty Lee watches on with warmth in her heart, but the joy is short lived as they remember the fire and smoke around them. They look around taking it all in, seeing the damage that's been done by these Fire Nation Raiders. The smiles wane from their faces, and they look to one another as the same thought enters their minds.

"We have to go check on the civilians. There could still be more soldiers," Ty Lee says.

June nods, but a thoughtful expression comes over her. "What happened to your friend? The princess?"

Ty Lee looks up to the rooftops, but as she expects, she sees nothing. There's no telling what may have happened to Azula, but in a strange way, she doesn't worry about whether or not she's been hurt. If anyone can handle herself in a situation like this, it's her.

No, instead she worries about whether or not she'll even get to see her to find out for sure.

* * *

There's a stillness in the air. Everywhere she steps, there's an empty quiet, a lifelessness she's never experienced in this desert town. It's a far cry from the waging battle that had taken over the city just minutes ago, and in that regard, Azula finds some relief. It's not enough to keep her from fretting over the children she left behind though.

She looks inside of every building, peeks around every alleyway. There's nothing though. The only other people around are the few soldiers that still lay unconscious on the sand, and the few that met worse fates at the hands of militiamen and women who were less forgiving. There's casualties on both sides though.

As much as she would like to only focus on her current prerogative in finding the three siblings, she can't help but let her mind wander to other places. Questions about who these raiders are and where they come from. Thoughts of her distant mother and father that she's left behind for years now. Images of Ty Lee's face, both from the past and the slow burning present. It's amazing how little she's really changed on the surface, but seeing what she was capable of on the rooftops makes her realize that she has changed. She's not just a follower anymore. Whatever her passions are, they've brought her here on her own. Sure she had Zuko's guidance, and yes she had the bounty hunter's help. But those two didn't fight by her side today. Only Ty Lee did.

It makes her wonder just what other things are different though. What's the capital like now that Zuko rules? Do they have rebel insurrections like these often? Is father still alive? Do they have tea and discuss politics and how much they hate one another for being disappointments? And what of Iroh? Sure, they never were close like he was with Zuko, but knowing now that he isn't long for the world, Azula can't help but wonder how that affects him.

She should have paid better attention to the absolutes and not the what if's. She realizes that as she hears footsteps coming from behind her, and she instinctively flares up her fists to defend herself.

"Easy! We're the good guys…" she hears. With a moment to judge for herself, she sees that it's one of the militiamen of the town, joined by an accomplice. They're armed with swords, but she can see in their eyes that they don't intend to use them. That's the only reason she lowers her own defenses as she stares at them, anticipating whatever it is that they have for her.

Nothing is said though. With more time to study, she can tell that they're the ones waiting to see what it is that she will do. She thinks over how to handle this with care and sensitivity, because she does want to leave this place and go on her way with as little trouble as possible. Then again, she still has a few loose ends to tie up. Loose ends that she'd rather not speak of until she's sure it's safe to.

Finally, she decides on how to break the ice and get the ball rolling. "How many more are there?" A good question, she thinks. It lets them know that she means them no harm, and their answer lets her know if they're even safe to begin thinking of anything else.

"They're retreating. We've been watching them from our outpost," the militiaman answers. He's not lying from what Azula can see. Whether it's true or not is yet to be seen, but he at least believes that things have settled down. It suits her fine enough, but she decides not to say anything more. She's given them reason to trust her, now they need to do the same.

Belatedly, he begins to speak again. "You should come with us. Our mayor would like to honor you for everything you've done."

She almost scoffs at that, but she decides to keep the cynicism to herself. She could care less about the honor of mere commoners, but at the same time, if anyone can help her, it's the mayor of the town. "I'm- I'm looking for someone," she reluctantly admits. If worse comes to worse, she can just kick these punks to the curb and continue her search on her own.

Thankfully, they don't seem to have any issue with this. "Well, whoever you're looking for, they'll be at the outpost. We can take you there now," the man says. She stares hard into his eyes to see if this is some sort of trick, but she doesn't sense any deception. Either they don't know about the bounty on her or they just don't care, and apparently they've learned to trust at least one firebender.

"Take me there."

* * *

Riding along on Nyla's back, Ty Lee and June see that the battle is truly over. Whatever soldiers were left have fallen back, and they even watch one make it to his feet and run like hell to the storm gate. It makes June laugh a little, and Ty Lee even cracks a smile. Not so much because it's amusing to see him squirm, but more because she realizes the people of this town can be safe again.

They arrive at their destination, the militia compost. Several militiamen and women wait around the perimeter, and soon an older woman in a white kimono steps out to see them. Upon dismounting Nyla, June gives him a little chin scratch, and Ty Lee turns her attention to the woman in white.

"You must be the outlanders that everyone is speaking of," the woman begins with a little grin. "Which one of you is the firebender?" she then asks with a more inquisitive look.

Ty Lee and June look to one another before it dawns on them what she means. "Oh, she's not with us. I mean, she's _with us,_ she's just… not here," the former states.

The older woman nods to one of her guards, then puts back on the comforting grin she wore. "Well, maybe she'll join us soon. Until then, why don't you two come inside. I'm sure the children would take comfort in seeing your exoctic pet right now," she tells them.

June winces. "As long as they don't touch him."

"Splendid. Come then, we have some things to discuss," the woman says before turning to make her way inside. Again Ty Lee and June exchange a look, but they decide there's no harm in indulging her. So with a shrug, Ty Lee leads the way, and June and Nyla follow close behind.

Inside the compound, they see groups of militiamen and family members all huddling around, whispering about all the excitement that's happened today. Most of them look healthy and well enough, but some militia in the back corner are being treated by doctors and nurses. Thankfully, there don't seem to be any serious casualties. At least, none that they're likely to see or hear of in here.

"My name is Val Su. I'm Loud Mesa's mayor," the woman tells them. "Normally we meet outsiders with an air of skepticism, but after seeing how you two helped take down that metal man-"

Nyla huffs at that.

"Sorry. The _three_ of you… we knew we had to honor you as our guests."

June seems indifferent, but Ty Lee smiles. "It's really not necessary. We were happy to help."

"I believe you," Val Su says with a smile of her own before becoming more somber. "Which is why I'll ask you to forgive me for this; but I have to ask. What brings you to our town on the same day as a Phoenix's Ashes raid?"

"Phoenix's Ashes?" Ty Lee questions.

"They're an army of raiders that's been quickly rising up throughout the nation. No one knows how they got their footing, but government officials are doing everything they can to figure out more about them."

Ty Lee looks conflicted as she thinks it over. "Why wouldn't Zuko say anything about it?"

"Maybe he didn't know until after we left the capital. Maybe that's how new they are," June speculates.

Val Su meets their statements with shock. "Wait a minute? You two were sent by Fire Lord Zuko?"

They look to one another again before Ty Lee answers on their behalf. "That's why we need to find our friend. The firebender."

Sometimes when the devil is spoken of, they shall appear. Coincidentally enough, Azula makes her entrance into the compost with her escorts shortly after Ty Lee's edict. She doesn't waste any time in scanning every inch of the building searching for the three children, looking in all directions to try and find their familiar faces. There's no way she didn't just imagine them. They have to be here, they have to be safe! She doesn't know what she'll do if they aren't…

Her tunnel vision is only stalled by the sight of Ty Lee standing in the center of the room with the bounty hunter and a strange older woman, likely the mayor her escorts spoke of. Ty Lee can wait though. The older woman can't.

She starts hurrying her way over, causing the guards to become defensive. "Hey, wait!" her escort calls out. The mayor doesn't budge as Azula trudges over with a madenned look in her eyes though. In fact, she gestures to everyone else to ease up. This is the only thing that helps Ty Lee relax, both in her heart and her clenching fists.

"I take it you're the firebender," she guesses, unimpressed by her lack of decorum.

Azula could care less though. She just looks at some of the guards with a similar lack of enthusiasm before meeting eyes with Val Su once more. "I am," she curtly states, giving her little time to wonder what her reason is for being so blunt. "There are three children who live here, all with the same hair and eyes. Where are they?"

Hearing this troubles Ty Lee, which troubles June. She hasn't gotten this far with her only to let the princess of persnickety cause problems now. Val Su still doesn't let herself become intimidated though, narrowing her eyes at this stranger. "Why do you want to know?"

Before any more words can be said between the two, and before anything can be done to lead to any conflict, they feel the presence of someone approaching them. When they turn to see who, they discover three children... all with the same hair and eyes.

It stuns her. Absolutely stuns her. After searching for such a long time, here they are again, safe and sound. They left the roof. For one reason or another, they disobeyed her orders and made their way here. She couldn't be any more satisfied with the result, though. All that matters is that they're all here now, each of them looking at her with their bright, mirthful eyes. The tallest even smiles at her.

It brings her such an overwhelming new feeling of relief. Where she felt so much rage and pain in her heart making her way here, now there's this numbing sensation that slowly gives way to something new. Something proud and noble that she hasn't felt in ages, maybe even ever. She's not able to speak, but her eyes water a little facing the children she helped save.

For a moment, no one speaks. They just watch the anomaly that is Azula's vulnerability, all of them feeling conflicting blends of concern, uncertainty, and even a little joy in seeing the reunion. For Ty Lee, there's all three of course, and they're all for her old friend. "Azula?" she whispers, stepping just a little closer to her.

She's almost scared to look away. What if when she does they disappear? What if it's all in her head, what if she never even woke up from her fever dream? She can't trust herself for anything anymore, but in this moment, she realizes one unavoidable truth. She does trust Ty Lee.

Her eyes finally meet hers, and although she doesn't cry, she comes close as she quietly asks her. "You see them too, right?"

Although she's not sure what she means by that, she decides not to ask. It doesn't matter as long as Azula is okay. "Yeah," she simply says, looking back to the kids and smiling at them.

As scared as she was to look away, she's even more afraid to look back. There's no room for weakness though. There's no room for weakness…

She looks upon them once again, sure enough seeing them, the reality sinking in that she's not crazy. She didn't mistake herself. For once, she did something right, she did something good. She feels it warming up inside her as the two smaller children now smile too, both happy to see the mysterious stranger who blazed a trail into town and saved the day.

The air is changed by the arrival of two new faces, a man and a woman with worry in their eyes. They rush over until they see the children, then stop to have looks at everyone around. "Children, what are you doing here?" the man, likely their father, asks.

The mother kneels down to their level and caresses the youngest's cheek before facing Val Su. "What's going on here?"

Val Su looks to Azula, seeing all the emotion that swirls in her eyes. She isn't sure what to make of it, but she now feels more like she can trust this firebender. Even so, she still has one thing to figure out for herself. "I don't know little ones. Why don't you tell us what's going on?"

The children all exchange looks at one another, their parents, and the town leader before deciding to let the oldest speak on their behalf. With a smile, they look up to Azula. "She's a hero, Mom. She saved us."

One tear. One tear manages to escape Azula's eye, falling down to her cheek like the weight off her shoulders. She really did it. She really did do something good today. It's not something her father would have wanted, but it feels good. It feels right. Looking around at everyone else smiling at her, she can't help but feel humbled. The older woman, the children, their parents, the townsfolk, the bounty hunter… Ty Lee… hers is the one that maybe digs the deepest into her heart.

She was supposed to leave this place and never come back. She was going to start over again with a new name, just like she did when she left the capital three years ago. She wasn't supposed to see her ever again, and she certainly wasn't supposed to be a hero. And yet, here she is. Almost like it was all supposed to be this way.

Before she can get too lost in her feelings, Val Su reaches over to rest a hand on her shoulder. She's startled at the touch, her instincts telling her that no one is to touch her. Ever. What rage would have followed simply does not, though. Instead, she just looks to the older woman, fixing her eyes on hers as they glow with pride. "What is your name, firebender?"

There was a time when her name was to be feared. It was to be respected. Everyone who heard or uttered it were to show nothing but devotion to her every will and word. Today, it's as if she's just like everyone else in the room. She's not better than any of them, and they aren't here to bow to her. They're here to celebrate her for her deeds, not her title. Even so, there's so much anxiety at the thought of it. This is so unlike the life she knew before, and even if it's supposed to be this way, what happens when they hear the truth? What happens when they learn who she is? Won't they vilify her and cast her out?

She isn't sure what to do, so again, she looks to Ty Lee. She doesn't know why, but she knows she feels secure in trusting her judgment now. She'll know the right thing to do. Her friend, her best friend who came all this way to find her… smiles. She smiles because this is what she wants for her. This is the way she's happy seeing her old friend. So maybe… maybe this is how she should see herself too? Maybe this is how it's supposed to be, after all.

There's no room for weakness, and there's no place for fear. That's why she stays strong, stays brave as she looks to the older woman with a straight face to tell her the truth. "I am Azula. Princess of the Fire Nation."

Only a matter of seconds pass after she lets the words free, but they're some of the slowest seconds of her life. This is it. This is the part where they all turn away and betray her, just like everyone else always has…

But they smile. They all keep smiling at her, even the old woman as she removes her hand from her shoulder. "To Azula! May honor follow her wherever she may go!" Her declaration is followed by roaring applause from everyone else in the room. The children clap with joy, their parents show nothing but humble appreciation in their eyes as they clap along too. Some of the younger men join together to holler "Woo, woo, woo!", and even June has to clap a little too as she cracks a small smile at her.

Then there's Ty Lee. She's the last to start clapping along, but it's only because, for a moment, they get lost in one another's eyes. Of all the people in the room, her joy is the most selfless. Her smile is one of pride and empathy, one that shows that she wants this for Azula more than anything she knew she wanted. It brings a warm feeling to Azula, all of it does. But mostly her. Mostly Ty Lee.

Her head begins to feel a little fuzzy though. As she hears the applause, she looks around to all the people smiling and cheering for her. She begins to feel a little dizzy trying to take every face in, every new person that she doesn't even know. This is their first time seeing her. How can they be so happy? Don't they know who she is? What she's done?

Father knows what she's done. So does mother. And Iroh. And Zuko. And the water bender who chained her up that fateful day. The smiles of the children disappear for her. As she circles the crowd, she sees _them._ The same faces that have haunted her nightmares every night for the last three years. Why? Why can't they just leave her alone?

Ty Lee sees the demeanor of her friend changing, and her smile slowly fades as Azula keeps going through these motions. She was a fool. This isn't what she's supposed to be, this isn't where she belongs. This is the illusion of someone who isn't a princess, someone who isn't supposed to lead armies and command forces and be the very best of the best that her ancestors always taught her to be. Her heart beats faster, her head becomes lighter. Everyone keeps cheering though, applauding the lie that is the hero Azula. She's no hero. She never was.

"Stop!" she finally snaps. Everyone in the room freezes, completely shocked by this reaction from her. The children gasp, Ty Lee almost does too before she covers her mouth.

Azula looks around at everyone again, seeing the same faces of commoners as before. How weak, how helpless they all are! This is how they're supposed to be; afraid to be in the same breathing space as her, all subject to treat every word that leaves her mouth as gospel. The more she thinks about it, the more she realizes they need it.

"You think this is a game? You think this is some sort of party?! It's not!" she starts, being sure to look to every face of every nobody in the crowd. "You are not safe! Those raiders won't go away forever just because they were beaten once. No! They'll come back stronger than ever, ready to destroy each and every one of you!"

Many of them gasp at her strong warning. Val Su watches with both disgust and somber attentiveness, trying to dissect every word that leaves the fallen princess' mouth as she continues on. Just like June, who can't help but be both angry and disappointed. When she looks to Ty Lee and sees the way she wears her heartbreak on her sleeve, there's mostly disappointment.

"And what about that big guy? The one with the cannon? Did he just up and leave? Did you finish him off?" Azula asks. No one says anything though. Not June, not Ty Lee, not anyone. No, everyone just stays silent as they listen. Even the children, the ones who called her a hero; now they just hold tight to their parents, afraid to see who their hero really is. And she sees that. She sees the sorrowful weakness in their eyes.

It just reminds her what she's always known to be true, though. There's no room for weakness in this world or in her heart. She is Azula, and she'll be strong where others fail to be. "I will not be here to save you all the next time this happens. If you were all smart, you'd tie up that Goliath and get every piece of information out of him that you can so you can be ready the next time those ravagers come! But you're not strong enough. I see it in you," she states, looking directly in the eyes of Val Su as she does. Unsurprisingly, she says nothing back though. She might be mad about it, but she knows she's right deep down. "Your best bet is just to leave then. Leave this place and find somewhere to start over. Go somewhere where _Fire Lord Zuko_ can protect you," she says mockingly before finishing with a bitter end. "Or don't. I don't care either way."

She doesn't wait to see how the children will look at her. She doesn't look to see the way the older woman scornfully gawks at her. She really doesn't care, and frankly, she can't afford to anymore. What she does is make a beeline straight for Ty Lee, not even giving her a moment to speak her mind regarding her shocking words. "You," she curtly says, pointing her finger at her. Obviously it sparks concern in her. Whatever could she have to say now? It all happens so fast, she hardly has to any time to wrap her head around everything that's just been said.

Which makes it even more shocking to hear her say, "We're leaving. Now."

"What?" Ty Lee utters, but she can't work out anything else. Azula only looks to her for a moment to make it known that she's very serious, then she turns to walk right past her. She doesn't even acknowledge the dirty stare June gives her, she just heads for the exit. Even though there's a lot going on in her head, Ty Lee can't just let her walk away without getting some sort of explanation. So she turns to yell for her. "Azula, wait!"

"I'll be at the storm gate waiting for you. Finish whatever business you have here quickly before I change my mind," she turns to say before leaving, this time for good.

Finally Ty Lee is able to start putting some of the pieces together. Apparently, she's decided to come with her back to the capital. Whether or not that was always the case remains to be seen, but even so, she can't help but wonder what's changed. What's the real reason she's come to this decision? Is it because of her family and friends, is it because she's just tired of running? Is it everything?

From the sound of her little speech just now, it doesn't seem like she's very excited about it. Crazy enough though, Ty Lee can't help but feel a little glad to hear that her old friend will come back home with her though. She's never been closer to being able to help Azula, and maybe things will actually work out for the best in due time. Then again, it is Azula. Something could go horribly wrong, too…

She decides it's best not to dwell on it for too long until she gets back to her. First, she has a few things to take care of. She has to get what little traveling gear she has, she has to find a mount, she has to talk with June, figure out how to go about leaving these people…

As she looks around and sees their dejected faces, she can't help but wonder a terrible thought. What if Azula was right about the things she said? As she considers all of the options, June makes her way over with a somber expression on her face. It doesn't stop her from making an attempt to lighten the mood though. "She's kind of terrible," she says of Azula, smiling a little to try and rub off on Ty Lee. It doesn't work though. She just frowns as she looks to the townsfolk all gathered around with similar depressing auras.

"She's kind of right though. What if these people aren't safe? What if more raiders come? Then what?" she thinks out loud as she turns to June. It makes the older woman sad to see this, but she also has to respect one thing about Azula. Sometimes you have to tell people what they don't want to hear. "I don't know. I do know that we better get going if we don't want her royal pain in the ass-ety to take off without us though."

It was hard for her to say, but harder for Ty Lee to hear. She keeps watching the denizens of the fortress whispering to each other about what they can possibly do to protect themselves. Their home has already been ransacked, they've already been through so much. The militia men who fought bravely to defend their lives, the mothers and fathers and children who simply want to live happy, normal lives...

It may be impulsive, but she comes to a decision. She knows it might be the only thing they can really even do for now. "No. I'm going alone," she tells June, looking at her with a straight face.

It stuns her to hear. "What?" is all she can say, almost like she doesn't believe her.

"June, I hate to ask anything else from you. These last few days you've been so helpful and supportive and patient with me and… and I can't even begin to tell you how much I appreciate it," she tells her, wearing her heart on her sleeve. "But these people need more help. They need someone to get them on their feet and give them some direction." She says, gesturing to the same people she's felt so much sympathy for. That's heart wrenching enough for June, but then she drops the big bombshell. "That, and our metal friend could still become an issue."

She saw firsthand what he was capable of. He nearly killed her, he nearly killed Nyla, and he almost even got to Ty Lee. If the three of them had trouble with him, there's no telling just how dangerous he could be left in the hands of these simple townsfolk.

Even so, it's a bitter pill to swallow. "Ty Lee…"

But Ty Lee has made up her mind. "Look, I know this isn't your responsibility, but I'm begging you. Please stay and help out a little longer. I'll tell Zuko everything when we get back to the capital, and he'll make it so worth your while!" she bargains. June is quick to interrupt though.

"Ty Lee, look. I don't care about the money right now. I'll do what I can to help these people. I don't know how much I can really do for them, but I'll try. I'll do that much for you because you're a good kid." She then breaks away from Ty Lee's eyes to look back to the exit where Azula left them. "But are you sure you want to go back alone? With _her?"_

She looks down to the ground for a moment as she composes her thoughts. In a way, she even makes sure this is what she really wants. But it doesn't take much consideration to know that deep down, it really is. "I have to keep trying, June. I know she's… well, she's Azula… But she's my friend. My best friend. I need to see this through."

June digests her words, her sincerity coming in clearly as she sighs with understanding. She can't help but smile with admiration as she pulls something from her travel bag. She hands it to Ty Lee. "Here. This is a map. I've marked some safe places to stop and gather supplies and some decent areas to camp in case you need to. I don't know if you'll need it, but you might be able to use it."

She's slow to accept it. In a way, she's glad to have it and glad to see that June understands her. On the other hand, she realizes that this means goodbye. And goodbyes have never been easy for her. She stays strong though as she meets June's eyes, listening closely as she speaks up again.

"I'll stay here tonight and see what I can do to help out. Once I'm sure these people can handle themselves, I'll have Nyla get the scent from our tall, shiny friend and follow it back to wherever these goons came from."

Just thinking of how dangerous the man with the cannon was is enough to trouble her, but the idea of more men like him and his fellow raiders almost makes Ty Lee second guess everything. "Are you sure about that?"

June doesn't seem too worried though, and helps calm her nerves. "I might be able to get some really valuable information for when I come back to the capital. Information that I'm sure Zuko would be interested in hearing." She just smiles down to Ty Lee, a little weakness showing in her bright blue eyes. As tough and strong as she is, Ty Lee's seen the best of her on their journey to Loud Mesa. She's not just a hired hand, she's a friend.

"Well, I guess this is it then," she says, somberly studying the map for a moment before looking back to those blue eyes. "Thanks for everything June."

As much as it pains her to admit it, she'll miss Ty Lee too. She shows it in the way she smiles back, forlornly letting the words linger in the air for as long as they're allowed to. All good things must come to an end though, and they both have very important work ahead of them.

She isn't able to walk away so easily though. Ty Lee can't hold back anymore, and she has to wrap herself around June for a big hug. Normally she wouldn't at all be interested in such a gesture, but for her little friend Ty Lee she makes an exception. "Okay, easy there kiddo," she says before gently creating some space between them. She meets her with one more smile as she looks in her eyes, this time knowing that it will be the last chance she may have for a while. "You be careful out there, alright?"

With a little tearing in her eyes, Ty Lee just says "You too," before making her way over to Nyla. Maybe it's just her imagination, but the way he looks back to her almost makes it seem like he's sad to watch her leave too. She comes closer to give him a loving nuzzle, holding on for a few seconds to let him know he's loved. "I'm gonna miss you buddy."

If she could, she'd hold on longer. But she knows she can't. She knows that, not only was Azula serious about the possibility of changing her mind, but also that the journey back to the capital will be long and hard. There's so many things that could be said between the two of them, so many ways things could go wrong. At the same time, she can't help but be hopeful that maybe they'll go right.

She takes one last look around at everyone though, giving herself reason to trust that they'll all be okay. June will look after them, she'll make sure they'll all be taken care of. Everyone from the older woman named Val Su to the three children that brought Azula back to them, she knows that together, they can all stay strong and fight anything that threatens their peace. In fact, she even smiles as she takes it all in.

There's no more time to spare though, she knows that. So she makes her way to leave the compost, looking down to the map in her hands. June just wistfully watches her, hoping to herself that everything will work out well for the girl. If anyone deserves it, it's her.

Her little reverie is broken as Val Su makes her way to her side. "She smiles an awful lot for someone like her," she quips in spite of the brooding air of the room.

Seeing that she can have a sense of humor gives her hope. The same kind of hope that she gets seeing Ty Lee's smiles. "If the world had more people like her, we'd all be in a much better place."

* * *

**Hey true believers, thanks for reading. Hopefully you had fun doing so.**

**I have a couple short things. One, this thing is still in its early stages. I won't make guesstimations or anything, but I'll say that this will be a little long by the time it's all said and done lol. I'm trying to keep chapters around 10k words though, but sometimes I just get so carried away xD. The point is, I don't want to shortchange anything, and we all have to suffer for it.**

**Two, it took us a bit to get here, but now we're gonna get to the Tyzula stuff lol. The next chapter will be very dialogue heavy and focus on those two traveling together, so if that's your fancy, you're in luck. If not, Idk, go read some Lumity or something.**

**Three, I don't know how frequently/regularly I'll update. I've had the luxury of being able to just sit around my house this last month, but I'm going back to work soon, and yeah. Hopefully I can stay on this thing and have updates fairly often despite that.**

**That's all I have for now. Comments and stuff are appreciated, and again, thanks for reading!:)**


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